Asymmetries in progression in higher education in Taiwan: Parental education and income effects

A unique data set on Taiwan was employed to investigate the socioeconomic family backgrounds of students attending universities. Our empirical study found that individuals attending university are more likely to come from better-educated families than are those who do not attend university. Students attending public universities, which receive higher government subsidies, tend to come from wealthier families. Furthermore, our results show that the relationship between the size of the government subsidies and family background is not purely progressive. Students attending normal universities/teacher training colleges received the highest subsidies but tended to come from the least-educated families. Students attending the top five public universities come from the most affluent families of Taiwanese society.