'Study now, pay later' or 'HE for free'? An assessment of alternative proposals for higher education finance

Published on 1 June 2003

In this commentary, IFS compares the reforms proposed by the two parties, looking at the effect on student and graduate finances, the distributional impact on households with different incomes, and the cost to the Exchequer and taxpayers in general.

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This Commentary examines the government's proposed reforms to the system of higher education (HE) finance in England set out in its recent White Paper, comparing the reforms with the alternative proposals outlined by the Conservative Party in May.

    Authors

    Alissa Goodman
    Alissa Goodman

    Research Fellow University College London

    Alissa is an IFS Research Fellow and a Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Institute of Education.

    Greg Kaplan
    Greg Kaplan

    Research Fellow University of Chicago

    Greg is a Professor at the University of Chicago in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and a Research Fellow at the IFS.

    Report details

    DOI
    10.1920/co.ifs.2003.0094
    ISBN
    978-1-903274-33-0
    Publisher
    IFS

    Suggested citation

    Goodman, A and Kaplan, G. (2003). 'Study now, pay later' or 'HE for free'? An assessment of alternative proposals for higher education finance. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/study-now-pay-later-or-he-free-assessment-alternative-proposals-higher-education (accessed: 15 July 2025).

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