Anreizeffekte von Studiengebühren in der Hochschulbildung

Summary

Tuition fees – as they are now possible in the German system of higher education – may change the behaviour of students. To analyse these reactions more rigorously, a microeconomic decision model is constructed. It consists of two periods: in the first one, students invest in their human capital by studying a fixed period of time. The student’s decision problem is to choose between three time-consuming activities: the intensity of study, working in the labour market and enjoying leisure. In the second period, former students are assumed to use their human capital for earning a living by working. The wage they realise depends on the intensity of study in the first period. Incorporating a tuition fee into this model, it is analysed how the allocation of the student´s time between studying, working and leisure will change as well as how the demand for credit will be adjusted.