Taiwan’s education rate of return has increased incremen- tally over the long term, and education is the primary factor impacting income inequality. Its impact has been increasing every year. Having their children attend college is the way for disadvantaged households to escape poverty, but the high tuition policy is putting the poor in an increasingly difficult situation. In 1986, disadvantaged households were able to pay a portion of tuition costs; their borrowing amounted to less than their spending on education. Since 1996, however, the borrowing of disadvantaged households has been far higher than their spending on education, and the gap between the two has increasingly expanded. Moreover, disadvantaged households have to pay more tuition to have the same number of children attend university, possibly because it is more difficult for children from poor households to access quality, inexpensive public universities.
