Men who studied at any of 23 of the lowest-performing British universities went on to earn less than those who did not enter further education, research has revealed.
The findings will fuel debate about the cost to the taxpayer of universities with the worst employment records, because a large proportion of graduates do not repay their student loans.
The study, the first to match tax data with student loan records, also highlighted the big differences in earnings of graduates depending on their choice of degree.