Do Universities Benefit Local Youth? Evidence from University and College Participation, and Graduate Earnings Following in the Creation of a New University
by Marc Frenette
Business and Labour Market Analysis Division
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series, No. 283
Context
Previous research suggests that distance to school acts as a barrier to university access. Students from lower income families are particularly sensitive to increased distance, likely because of the added cost associated with having to move away from the home to attend university. One way to bridge this distance gap is to offer university programs in outlying areas, either by building a new university or by offering a wide variety of university programs in an existing college.
Objective(s)
The goal of this study is to assess the impact of these new universities on the postsecondary participation and graduate earnings of youth who grew up in the area.
Findings
Students who do not have access to a local university are far less likely to go on to university than students who grew up near a university, likely due to the added cost of moving away to attend, as opposed to differences in other factors (e.g., family income, parental education, academic achievement).
When distant students are faced with a local option, however, their probability of attendance substantially increases. Specifically, the creation of a local degree-granting institution is associated with a 28.1% increase in university attendance among local youth, and large increases were registered in each city affected. However, the increase in university participation came at the expense of college participation in most cities.
Furthermore, not everyone benefited equally from new universities. In particular, students from lower income families saw the largest increase in university participation, which is consistent with the notion that distance poses a financial barrier. Also, local aboriginal youth only saw a slight increase in university participation when faced with a local university option.
Data source(s)
The data used in this study is drawn from census, along with information on the creation of new university degree-granting institutions in Canada.
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