Does the higher education experience affect political interest, efficacy, and participation? Comparing dropouts to graduates and ‘non-starters’

In this paper, we focus on non-monetary and potential societal benefits of higher education and ask whether the higher education experience fosters political interest, internal political efficacy, and participation irrespective of completing a degree. Increasing enrolment rates in higher education also increase the number of higher education dropouts. Previous literature has found that dropouts fare equally well on the labour market as young adults who never enter higher education (‘non-starters’), suggesting that higher education does not pay off without obtaining a degree. However, preparing students for the labour market is only one goal of higher education. Therefore, we focus on broader returns to the higher education experience and its potential contribution to society. We use a representative sample of adults in Germany and apply linear regression models to compare dropouts to both graduates and ‘non-starters’. Our results confirm that higher education experience is positively related to political outcomes. However, except for internal political efficacy, the differences between dropouts and ‘non-starters’ do not appear to change substantially with the time spent in higher education. These findings call into question the role of higher education in creating politically informed and responsible citizens.