Downloads
![Image representing the file: wp201613.pdf](/sites/default/files/output_url_files/wp201613.pdf_0.jpg)
wp201613.pdf
PDF | 1.14 MB
We study students’ motives for educational attainment in a unique survey of 885 secondary school students in the UK. As expected, students who perceive the monetary returns to education to be higher are more likely to intend to continue in full-time education. However, the main driver is the perceived consumption value, which alone explains around half of the variation of the intention to pursue higher education. Moreover, the perceived consumption value can account for a substantial part of both the socio-economic gap and the gender gap in intentions to continue in full-time education.
Authors
![Jonathan Shaw](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-07/Jonathan_Shaw.jpg?itok=G41UePIT)
Research Fellow Financial Conduct Authority
Jonathan is a Research Fellow at the IFS and a Technical Specialist in the Economics Department at the Financial Conduct Authority.
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Chris Belfield
![Teodora Boneva](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-07/Teodora%20Boneva.jpg?itok=alSaHn_m)
Research Associate University of Bonn
Teodora is a Research Associate and a Professor of Applied Microeconomics at the Department of Economics at the University of Bonn.
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Christopher Rauh
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2016.1613
- Publisher
- IFS
Suggested citation
Belfield, C et al. (2016). Money or fun? Why students want to pursue further education. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/money-or-fun-why-students-want-pursue-further-education (accessed: 30 June 2024).
More from IFS
Understand this issue
![Christine Farquharson](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Christine%20universities.jpg?itok=ZtxmvU3f)
What has been happening with university finances?
27 June 2024
![Christine Farquharson](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Christine-Farquharson.jpg?itok=GvFkPCbx)
What does the Conservative's higher education announcement this week mean for apprenticeships and 'low-value' university courses?
1 June 2024
![Female surgeon](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-04/female-surgeon-2.jpg?itok=DxoZaqMs)
If you can’t see it, you can’t be it: role models influence female junior doctors’ choice of medical specialty
24 April 2024
Policy analysis
![Shopping street](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/Street-scene-.jpg?itok=R39cR6Xp)
How do the last five years measure up on levelling up?
19 June 2024
![London](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/London.jpg?itok=zm-17Mfa)
The Conservatives and the Economy, 2010–24
3 June 2024
![Terrace housing](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2024-06/terrace%20housing%20feature.jpg?itok=eloSiGLE)
Making mortgage guarantees permanent will help some first-time buyers, but only if they can afford a bigger mortgage
6 June 2024
Academic research
![Fiscal Studies - 2024 - June cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-06/Fiscal%20Studies%20-%202024%20-%20-%20June%20cover.jpg?itok=mQEwRc_w)
Income inequality in Ireland, 1987–2019
28 June 2024
![Fiscal Studies - 2024 - June cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-06/Fiscal%20Studies%20-%202024%20-%20-%20June%20cover.jpg?itok=mQEwRc_w)
Components of the evolution of income inequality in Sweden, 1990–2021
28 June 2024
![Working paper cover](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/2024-06/WP202428-The-impact-of%20labour-demand-shocks-when-occupational-labour-supplies-are-heterogeneous.jpg?itok=Erq9-V9O)
The impact of labour demand shocks when occupational labour supplies are heterogeneous
28 June 2024