TY - JOUR
T1 - "Fair to me, fair to us, or fair to you?" Unresolved conflict between government and graduates over Australia's tertiary education loans
AU - Braithwaite, Valerie
AU - Ahmed, Eliza
AU - Cleland, Deborah
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Australia adopted income-contingent government loans for tertiary students 30 years ago, aiming to promote greater access and equity in higher education, as repayments were required only when income exceeded a threshold. Why then does the scheme still cause dissension and with what consequences for government? We analyse qualitative and quantitative survey data to answer this question. Contrary to the government's universal conception of fairness, graduates keenly perceive unfairness relative to their peers. Our results indicate that perceptions of unfair treatment create enduring difficulties for governments in securing cooperation from their citizens.
AB - Australia adopted income-contingent government loans for tertiary students 30 years ago, aiming to promote greater access and equity in higher education, as repayments were required only when income exceeded a threshold. Why then does the scheme still cause dissension and with what consequences for government? We analyse qualitative and quantitative survey data to answer this question. Contrary to the government's universal conception of fairness, graduates keenly perceive unfairness relative to their peers. Our results indicate that perceptions of unfair treatment create enduring difficulties for governments in securing cooperation from their citizens.
U2 - 10.1080/17487870.2020.1785298
DO - 10.1080/17487870.2020.1785298
M3 - Article
SN - 1748-7870
JO - Journal of Economic Policy Reform
JF - Journal of Economic Policy Reform
ER -