TY  - JOUR
A1  - Helbig, Marcel
A1  - Baier, Tina
A1  - Kroth, Anna
T1  - The Effect of Tuition Fees on Enrollment in Higher Education in Germany.
 Evidence from a Natural Experiment
JF  - ZEITSCHRIFT FUR SOZIOLOGIE
N2  - In this paper we estimate the effect of tuition fees on the intentions of high school graduates in Germany to enroll in higher education. Based on representative survey data collected by the HIS institute between 2002 and 2008, we are able to analyze the effect of tuition fees using a quasi-experimental design. We take advantage of the variation between the German federal states in the introduction of tuition fees to examine the impact of tuition fees and employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy. We do not find empirical evidence that tuition fees lower the intentions to enroll in higher education among high school graduates. This holds true for both the whole sample and for different subgroups, such as women or high school graduates with no family background of higher education.
KW  - Social Inequality
KW  - Educational Inequality
KW  - Tuition Fees
KW  - Transition to Higher Education
KW  - Natural Experiment
KW  - Difference-in-Differences
KW  - Causal Inference
KW  - HIS School Leaver Survey
Y1  - 2012
SN  - 0340-1804
VL  - 41
IS  - 3
SP  - 227
EP  - 246
PB  - LUCIUS LUCIUS VERLAG MBH
CY  - STUTTGART
ER  -