Which university do you choose? Choice of university location among higher education students in the Netherlands (315)

Theme Track: Locational Analysis - Locational Preferences

Authors:
Sá, Carla ; Florax, Raymond ; Rietveld, Piet

A large number of studies have focused on the determinants of the demand for higher education. Although almost all of them point out several socio-economic factors that hide behind the decision to attend higher education, the spatial dimension of demand remains less explored. Moreover, those studies that have considered the spatial factors used data with a high level of spatial aggregation. In this study the determinants of the choice of university by Dutch higher education students are addressed. Particular attention is given to the accessibility aspects, including the geographic distribution of higher education institutions.

A cross-section data set provided by the Central Office for Higher Education Application in the Netherlands, which contains individual information at a low level of aggregation (zip-code) for all first year applicants, is combined with regional information provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics, to examine the factors that may influence the choice for a particular university. This implies the use of spatial choice models. In order to incorporate effects such as spatial dependence, modeling techniques to correct for spatial autocorrelation will be applied.

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