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The Enrollment Effect of Secondary School Fees in Post-War Germany

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  • Riphahn, Regina T.

    (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Abstract

This study utilizes the heterogeneity of the fee abolition for West German secondary schools to identify its effect on enrollment and to obtain an estimate of the price elasticity of demand for education. The analysis is based on administrative school enrollment statistics as well as on representative individual-level data from three annual surveys of the German Mikrozensus. Estimates suggest that enrollment in Advanced Schools increased by about six percent due to the fee abolition, where the results are sensitive to the specification choice. The positive enrollment effect of fee abolition for women exceeds that for men. A fifty percent reduction in fees is associated with an overall change in enrollment rates by 3 percent, where the elasticity of the demand for females' education again exceeds that for males'.

Suggested Citation

  • Riphahn, Regina T., 2004. "The Enrollment Effect of Secondary School Fees in Post-War Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 1295, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1295
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Machin Stephen & Puhani Patrick A., 2005. "Special Issue on the Economics of Education – Policies and Empirical Evidence: Editorial," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(3), pages 259-267, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    demand for education; enrollment; tuition; school fees; natural experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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