Darragh Flannery

Analysing the preferences of prospective students for higher education institution attributes

ABSTRACT We utilise a dataset of students in their final year of upper secondary education in Ireland to provide a detailed examination of the preferences of prospective students for higher education institutions (HEIs). Our analysis is based upon a discrete choice experiment methodology with willingness to pay estimates derived for specific HEI attributes and compensating surplus estimated for different bundles of attributes. The results suggest that course reputation and work placement are the most valued attributes. We also find strong evidence of preference heterogeneity, with those from lower socio-economic backgrounds more averse to higher levels of fees.

Student Financing of Higher Education

The need for further investment in higher education, combined with fiscal constraints and concerns about accessibility and affordability, has placed the higher education financing system in Ireland in focus. In this context, this chapter first discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various higher education funding systems, both state and student based. The results of two separate empirical analyses that examine the introduction of several alternative student financing systems in Ireland are then presented. These raise equity concerns related to a graduate tax scheme and default concerns with a mortgage-style loan system. They also show that an income contingent loan (ICL) system for Ireland is workable, although careful consideration must be given to the setting of interest rates and the issue of graduate emigration in implementing such a system.

The Economics of Higher Education Participation

Given the recent rapid growth and persistent social inequalities in higher education participation in Ireland, it is important to gain an understanding of the factors that may influence the decision to progress to higher education. This chapter presents the results from empirical models of higher education participation using Irish data. It finds a student’s socioeconomic background is particularly important in determining participation but that this effect is mediated by their attainment in secondary school. With this in mind, the chapter also presents estimates of the main determinants of upper secondary exam performance. The results show that socioeconomic factors are very strong predictors of students’ second-level attainment; the authors conjecture that this may be driven by differences in school quality and/or parents’ values and attitudes towards education.

Economics and Higher Education Policy

The Irish higher education sector has evolved significantly over the past 20 years. This chapter details the most prominent changes in the sector over that period and discusses the role that economics can play in informing policy. It first describes the Irish higher education system, while also providing stylised facts relating to educational attainment, participation and financing. It then provides the policy background for a range of relevant issues within Irish higher education, as well as highlighting the specific contributions that economics can make. The chapter identifies a shortage of economic analysis in policy decision-making within the Irish higher education sector to date, with the collection of research presented in this book providing a step towards bridging this divide.

The Returns to Third Level Education

Estimates of the private returns to education largely ignore the interaction of increasing gross earnings and the tax/benefit system, as well as the impact extra education may have on labour market outcomes and other non-labour incomes. Estimates of the public and non-pecuniary returns to education are also rare. In this context, this chapter presents estimates of the net private, public and non-pecuniary returns to third level education in Ireland for the year 2014. It finds significant positive returns to both the individual and the state from investing in third level education. It also finds tentative evidence that individuals with a third level education report higher measures of happiness and health compared to those with lower levels of education, controlling for income and other factors.

Of Mice and Pens: A Discrete Choice Experiment on Assignment Systems in Economics

Technological advances have led to a rise in the variety of ways of delivering assignments, most notably, the use of online assignment systems. The main contribution of this paper is to use a Discrete Choice Experiment to elicit students’ preferences for various possible attributes of assignment systems. Our results indicate that students have the strongest preference for assignment systems containing questions that have a high relevance for exam preparation. They also have a strong preference for assignment systems that provide a high level of feedback. Our results indicate that there is a high degree of heterogeneity within the student cohort in their preferences towards various attributes of assignment systems with some students willing to pay over €180 for assignment systems that have a high level of exam relevance while others are only willing to pay €30.