Title
The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on Post-Secondary Educational Attainment: Implications for the Benefits and Costs of Generous and Universal College Subsidies
Project Dates
03/02/2015 -
Description
In order to study whether universal college scholarships can reduce inequality in education, we study one aspect of the Kalamazoo Promise that resembles a "natural experiment." We use the fact that the surprise announcement of the scholarship created a large change in expected college tuition costs that varied across different groups of students based on past enrollment decisions. Using a differences-in-differences analysis, we compare the outcomes of Promise-eligible students to ineligible students, before and after the Promise. Outcomes studied include college enrollment, whether the student has obtained a college degree, and after-college earnings. We use the economical and racial diversity of the district to study group-specific effects.
Sponsorship
William T. Grant Foundation
Subject Area
EDUCATION; Postsecondary education; Promise scholarships
Publications
The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on College Enrollment, Persistence, and Completion, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad Hershbein, and Marta Lachowska. Upjohn Institute Working Paper 15-229 (2015; Revised 2017)
The Merits of Universal Scholarships: Benefit-Cost Evidence from the Kalamazoo Promise Timothy J. Bartik, Brad Hershbein, and Marta Lachowska. Upjohn Institute Working Paper 16-252 (2016)
The Merits of Universal Scholarships: Benefit-Cost Evidence from the Kalamazoo Promise, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad Hershbein, and Marta Lachowska. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis 7(3): 400-433 (2016)