Perception of Higher Education: A Public or Private Good?

Abstract

Abstract. The social benefit of higher education is one of the most important reasons for its being funded by the state. However, within the context of liberal economic policies, the perception of education as a private good and, therefore, the necessity of supplying it by the market has brought about a decrease in the state participation in higher education in many countries. Therefore, this study aims to determine whether students studying at public and foundation universities, differentiated according to financing, perceive their university education as a public or private good. In a sense, this study aims to examine whether different financing methods in higher education affect students’ perception of higher education as a public good. In this study, the data collected from the students were tested within the scope of structural equation modelling, and the hypotheses put forward were confirmed. This study demonstrated that higher education is perceived as a public good by all university students whose financing method differs. According to the results obtained, students who are direct buyers of higher education services in universities that differ according to the financing method do not differentiate in terms of perceiving higher education as a public good.