Public Opinion

Overview

In the ifo Education Survey, we survey the opinion of Germans on various topics of education policy every year.

In survey experiments, we study how the provision of different kinds of information affects public opinion.

Public opposition against university tuition turns into a plurality in favor when respondents are informed about the university earnings premium and into a strong majority in favor when tuition is designed as deferred income-contingent tuition.

Providing information about the extent of educational inequality strongly increases public concerns about educational inequality but only slightly increases (already high) support for equity-oriented education policies.

Information on economic returns and costs of higher education cannot reduce the large gap in educational aspirations by educational background.

International comparisons inform about public opinion on education policy in different countries.