Konstantina Boutsioukou (RHUL) “Parental background and access to tertiary education in Greece: Changes in times of crisis” – PhD seminar

Abstract

In this study I explore how university entry patterns in Greece were affected by the debt crisis over the period 2008-2016. In particular, I study the distribution of educational participation in elite university programmes in Greece and examine whether the link between parental background and admission to elite university programmes has changed as a result of the economic recession that hit Greece in 2009. I use individual-level data for admissions to every undergraduate university program in Greece for nine rounds of admission cohorts (2008-2016) and data on the university admission thresholds (2008-2016) for every undergraduate university programme, recording the minimum score required for entry. I find that students from higher educational backgrounds are more likely to be admitted to elite departments such as medicine, law and engineering compared to students from poorer educational backgrounds. However, the results indicate that the socioeconomic gradient of entry into the elite programmes has become flatter over the years of the crisis.