Does Ignorance of Economic Returns and Costs Explain the Educational Aspiration Gap? Representative Evidence from Adults and Adolescents
基于德国代表性调查，发现父母教育背景不同导致大学期望差距，但提供回报和成本信息无法缩小这一差距，因为信息对高教育背景群体的影响同样甚至更强。
The gap in university enrolment by parental education is large and persistent in many countries. In our representative survey of German adults, 74% of university graduates, but only 36% of those without a university degree, favour university education for their children. The latter are more likely to underestimate returns and overestimate costs of university. Similarly, 75% of adolescents with university‐educated parents, but only 51% without university‐educated parents aspire to a university degree. Experimental provision of general return and cost information does not close the aspiration gap as treatment effects are at least as strong for individuals with a university background as for those without. Differences in economic preference parameters also cannot account for the educational aspiration gap.