International dimensions in the financing of higher education

• Bruce Chapman, Peter Tulip
• Centre for Economic Policy Research

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11 April 2008This paper compares and contrasts international experience with respect to higher education
financing. The size and payment forms of tuition, and the different types and levels of public
sector support, are illustrated for a large number of countries. A major aspect of the
discussion concerns the conceptual bases and the costs and benefits of the two different
instruments of government intervention for student financing: guaranteed bank loans, and
income contingent loans. It is argued that income contingent loans have a number of
advantages over government guaranteed bank loans, and this seems to be increasingly
recognised with respect to international adoption of the former. However, to be efficacious
income contingent loan systems require sophisticated institutional and administrative
repayment collection arrangements.