Unequal Access to Higher Education in the Czech Republic: The Role of Spatial Distribution of Universities

Abstract:     
The Czech Republic exhibits high geographical variation of both human capital and universities. We examine a potential source of human capital spatial disparities: the unequal access to tertiary education caused by the absence/presence of a local university. We model both a secondary school graduate's decision whether to apply to a university and a university's decision about admission. Two possible sources of unequal access to university study are distinguished: cost savings and informational advantages for those residing close to a university. Estimation results suggest that the local neighborhood having a highly educated population, rather than the presence of a university per se, has a positive effect on a secondary school graduate's decision to apply. Moreover, we find that heterogenous information plays a significant role in admission to university.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 61

Keywords: human capital, spatial distribution, access to tertiary education

JEL Classification: I20, I21, J24

working papers series