Admission quota schemes and regional inequality

Abstract

Assigning admission quotas in proportion to regional student population sizes is often seen as a strategy to reduce regional inequality by ensuring equal access to high-quality universities. This paper challenges the effectiveness of such a policy by examining the rationale behind schools' use of local preferential treatment and considering the heterogeneity of student preferences. Using an illustrative model and experimental analysis, we show that high-quality universities have an inherent incentive to resist seemingly fair quota schemes, opting instead to reserve more seats for local students to improve their admission outcomes. Moreover, we find that the equal quota allocation scheme, while appearing fair, may be counterproductive for its intended beneficiaries—students from disadvantaged regions—leading to greater admissions unfairness and widening the regional gap in access to quality schools. As a solution, we propose a new admissions scheme, the quota-free approach, which better serves the dual goals of educational equity and admissions quality.