IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v91y2022ics0738059322000281.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the “income advantage” in course choices and admissions: Evidence from the University of the Philippines

Author

Listed:
  • Daway-Ducanes, Sarah Lynne S.
  • Pernia, Elena E.
  • Ramos, Vincent Jerald R.

Abstract

The empirical evidence in developed economies suggests a rise in inequality of access to higher education in favor of students from higher-income households. Is this ‘income advantage’ also pronounced in developing economies like the Philippines, where there have been recent deliberate efforts by the government to democratize access to higher education? Using quantitative (logistic regression) analysis on proprietary admissions data from the country’s largest and foremost state university – the University of the Philippines (UP) System (whose students are labeled locally as “Scholars of the People”) – for the period 2006–2015, we find that there is an `income advantage’ not only in terms of being admitted to the UP System, but also in being admitted to the first-choice course cluster: Applicants coming from richer households have higher probabilities of being admitted to UP. However, no such ‘income advantage’ is apparent with regard to the choice of a Science and Technology (S&T) course over a non-S&T course. Other significant determinants of admission to the UP system and to one’s first-choice course cluster are being male, high school grade weighted average, high school type, and high school region. Our results suggest that the new free tuition policy at public universities and colleges, including the UP system, is more likely to disproportionately benefit students coming from higher-income families.

Suggested Citation

  • Daway-Ducanes, Sarah Lynne S. & Pernia, Elena E. & Ramos, Vincent Jerald R., 2022. "On the “income advantage” in course choices and admissions: Evidence from the University of the Philippines," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:91:y:2022:i:c:s0738059322000281
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102578
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059322000281
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102578?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2012. "Do better schools lead to more growth? Cognitive skills, economic outcomes, and causation," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 267-321, December.
    2. Björn Nilsson, 2019. "The School-to-Work Transition in Developing Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 745-764, May.
    3. Romina Boarini & Hubert Strauss, 2010. "What is the private return to tertiary education?: New evidence from 21 OECD countries," OECD Journal: Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2010(1), pages 1-25.
    4. Mina, Christian D. & Reyes, Celia M. & Asis, Ronina D., 2017. "Inequality of Opportunities Among Ethnic Groups in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2017-42, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    5. Reyes, Celia M. & Mina, Christian D. & Asis, Ronina D., 2017. "Inequality of Opportunities Among Ethnic Groups in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2017-42, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    6. Joseph G. Altonji & Seth D. Zimmerman, 2018. "The Costs of and Net Returns to College Major," NBER Chapters, in: Productivity in Higher Education, pages 133-176, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Adelman, Sarah W. & Gilligan, Daniel O. & Lehrer, Kim, 2008. "How effective are food for education programs?: A critical assessment of the evidence from developing countries," Food policy reviews 9, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Uma Mazyck Jayakumar & Scott E. Page, 2021. "Cultural Capital and Opportunities for Exceptionalism: Bias in University Admissions," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 92(7), pages 1109-1139, November.
    9. Caroline M. Hoxby, 2009. "The Changing Selectivity of American Colleges," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(4), pages 95-118, Fall.
    10. Pallais, Amanda & Turner, Sarah, 2006. "Opportunities for Low–Income Students at Top Colleges and Universities: Policy Initiatives and the Distribution of Students," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 59(2), pages 357-386, June.
    11. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2014. "Do College-Preparatory Programs Improve Long-Term Outcomes?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 72-99, January.
    12. Compton Bourne & Anand Dass, 2003. "Private and Social Rates of Return to Higher Education in Science and Technology in a Caribbean Economy," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10.
    13. Harry J. Holzer & David Neumark, 2006. "Affirmative action: What do we know?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 463-490.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daway-Ducanes, Sarah Lynne & Pernia, Elena & Ramos, Vincent Jerald, 2018. "On Income Advantage in University Admissions and College Major Choices: Evidence from the University of the Philippines," MPRA Paper 101108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Suqin Ge & Elliott Isaac & Amalia Miller, 2022. "Elite Schools and Opting In: Effects of College Selectivity on Career and Family Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(S1), pages 383-427.
    3. Smith, Jonathan & Pender, Matea & Howell, Jessica, 2013. "The full extent of student-college academic undermatch," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 247-261.
    4. Steven W. Hemelt & Kevin M. Stange & Fernando Furquim & Andrew Simon & John E. Sawyer, 2021. "Why Is Math Cheaper than English? Understanding Cost Differences in Higher Education," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 397-435.
    5. Francis, Andrew M. & Tannuri-Pianto, Maria, 2012. "The redistributive equity of affirmative action: Exploring the role of race, socioeconomic status, and gender in college admissions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 45-55.
    6. Sarena Goodman, 2013. "Learning from the test: raising selective college enrollment by providing information," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2013-69, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    7. Michael F. Lovenheim & C. Lockwood Reynolds, 2013. "The Effect of Housing Wealth on College Choice: Evidence from the Housing Boom," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(1), pages 1-35.
    8. John F. Witte & Barbara Wolfe & Sara E. Dahill-Brown, 2013. "Income and Access to Higher Education: Are High Quality Universities Becoming More or Less Elite? A Longitudinal Analysis of Admissions at UW-Madison," CEPR Discussion Papers 681, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    9. Azevedo,Joao Pedro Wagner De & Goldemberg,Diana & Montoya,Silvia & Nayar,Reema & Rogers,F. Halsey & Saavedra,Jaime & Stacy,Brian William, 2021. "Will Every Child Be Able to Read by 2030 ? Defining Learning Poverty and Mapping the Dimensions of the Challenge," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9588, The World Bank.
    10. Rudolf T. Vecaldo & Antonio I. Tamayao & Maria T. Mamba & Jay Emmanuel L. Asuncion & Febe Marl G. Paat & Editha S. Pagulayan, 2020. "Academic Profile and College Preparedness of K-12 Graduates: The Case of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the Northern Philippines," Journal of Education and e-Learning Research, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 7(4), pages 437-445.
    11. Santos, João & Domingos, Tiago & Sousa, Tânia & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2016. "Does a small cost share reflect a negligible role for energy in economic production? Testing for aggregate production functions including capital, labor, and useful exergy through a cointegration-base," MPRA Paper 70850, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Bakker, Bas & Ghazanchyan, Manuk & Ho, Alex & Nanda, Vibha, 2020. "The Lack of Convergence of Latin-America Compared with CESEE: Is Low Investment to Blame?," MPRA Paper 101287, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Markus Brueckner & Ngo Van Long & Joaquin L. Vespignani, 2020. "Non-Gravity Trade," Globalization Institute Working Papers 388, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    14. J. Mark Ramseyer & Eric Rasmusen, 2013. "Lowering the Bar to Raise the Bar: Licensing Difficulty and Attorney Quality in Japan," Working Papers 2013-12, Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
    15. Uwe Sunde & Thomas Dohmen & Benjamin Enke & Armin Falkbriq & David Huffman & Gerrit Meyerheim, 2022. "Patience and Comparative Development," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(5), pages 2806-2840.
    16. Seebacher, Moritz, 2023. "Pathways to progress: The complementarity of bicycles and road infrastructure for girls’ education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Christopher Bennett & Brent Evans & Christopher Marsicano, 2021. "Taken for Granted? Effects of Loan-Reduction Initiatives on Student Borrowing, Admission Metrics, and Campus Diversity," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(5), pages 569-599, August.
    18. John Bound & Michael F. Lovenheim & Sarah Turner, 2010. "Why Have College Completion Rates Declined? An Analysis of Changing Student Preparation and Collegiate Resources," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 129-157, July.
    19. Niclas Berggren & Mikael Elinder, 2012. "Is tolerance good or bad for growth?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 283-308, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Course choice; Admissions inequality; Higher education; Philippines;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:91:y:2022:i:c:s0738059322000281. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.