Numerous eligible German students do not apply for heavily subsidized student aid (BAföG). Our theoretical model shows how imperfect information, risk aversion, debt aversion, and student income can incentivize rational students to abstain from an application. We use GSOEP data from 2001 to 2013 to simulate BAföG eligibility and find that in…

The purpose of this study is to outline a new approach to the comparative analysis of student finance systems based on social rights, an approach widely applied in other areas of social policy. It focuses on rights codified in national legislation and financed by central governments, and the collection of indicators measuring formal eligibility…

We estimate the percentage of eligible students who do not take up their federal need-based student financial aid entitlements in a microsimulation model for the German Socio-Economic Panel Study 2002--2013. We find that about 40% of the eligible low-income students do not take up their entitlements. Non-take-up is inversely and rather…