Almost all the candidates in the Conservative leadership election have promised higher levels of spending and there are reports the outgoing Prime Minister plans to announce an increase.

The current system of funding undergraduate education means that costs to government are highest for subjects where graduates earn the least, and lowest for subjects where they earn the most, is the findings of the report ‘Where is the money going? Estimating government spending on different university degrees’ published today (6 Mar) by Jack Britton, Laura van der Erve, Neil Shephard and Chris Belfield, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Attending university increases women’s earnings at age 29 by 26% and men’s by 6%: but this varies hugely by degree choice and prior attainment of students.

Children from richer families used to benefit much more from public spending on education than did those from poorer backgrounds.

Funding for 16- to 18-year-olds and for general further education has been cut much more sharply than funding for schools, pre-school or higher education.