Regional Differences in Higher Educational Choice?

Abstract

This paper examines geographical differences in choice of field in higher education. Formerly, educational attainment differed considerably between rural areas and urban centres. Today these differences are pretty much offset. What kind of education students from different geographical areas pursue is however less well known. This article examines this question. It analyses data from public administrative registers on the entire Norwegian population born between 1955 and 1983. It finds that people who have grown up close to a university more often study at a university, whereas people who have grown up near a university college more often study at a university college. Corresponding differences are found in the choice of educational field.