In a period of student loan scandals and U.S. financial market instability impacting on the cost and availability of student loans, this paper looks at alternative models of higher education funding. In this context, it also considers the level of financial support that the government should provide to higher education.

Patterns of government subsidies to higher education in five European countries are considered in order to provide a comparative perspective for U.S. policy-makers. Attention is focused on patterns of subsidizing both institutions and students for the five countries: France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The…