Higher Education and Progressive Taxation: Equity, Efficiency and Majority Voting

Examines, using a simple model, the choice of appropriate contributions of taxes and fees used to finance higher education. A two-period model is developed in which individuals in cohort invest in higher education in the first period, and the interdependences between educational choice and the tax system are considered. The implications of majority voting and the maximization of a social welfare function, allowing for a trade-off between equity and efficiency, are examined in progressive and proportional tax systems.