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Does Aid Matter? Measuring the Effect of Student Aid on College Attendance and Completion

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Author Info
Dynarski, Susan (Harvard U)

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Abstract

Does student financial aid increase college attendance, or simply subsidize costs for infra-marginal students? Settling the question empirically is a challenge, because aid is correlated with many characteristics that influence schooling decisions. A shift in financial aid policy that affects some youth but not others can provide an identifying source of variation in aid. In 1982, Congress eliminated the Social Security student benefit program, which at its peak provided grants totaling $3.9 billion a year (amounts are in constant 2000 dollars) to one out of eight college students. I use difference-in-differences analysis to evaluate the effect of this program on schooling outcomes. Using the death of a parent to proxy for Social Security beneficiary status, I find that the college attendance of the affected group dropped by more than a third, and schooling by two-thirds of a year. Offering $1,000 of grant aid increases the probability of attending college by 3.6 percentage points and years of completed schooling by a tenth of a year. Aid eligibility also appears to have a positive impact on school quality.

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Paper provided by Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government in its series Working Paper Series with number rwp01-034.

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Date of creation: Oct 2001
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Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp01-034

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  4. Freeman, Richard B, 1984. "Longitudinal Analyses of the Effects of Trade Unions," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. John Bound & Sarah Turner, 2002. "Going to War and Going to College: Did World War II and the G.I. Bill Increase Educational Attainment for Returning Veterans?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(4), pages 784-815, October. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Thomas J. Kane, 1995. "Rising Public College Tuition and College Entry: How Well Do Public Subsidies Promote Access to College?," NBER Working Papers 5164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Robin L. Lumsdaine & James H. Stock & David A. Wise, 1996. "Why Are Retirement Rates So High at Age 65?," NBER Chapters, in: Advances in the Economics of Aging, pages 61-82 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Susan M. Dynarski, 1999. "Does Aid Matter? Measuring the Effect of Student Aid on College Attendance and Completion," NBER Working Papers 7422, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Meyer, Bruce D, 1995. "Natural and Quasi-experiments in Economics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 151-61, April.
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  11. Summers, Lawrence H, 1989. "Some Simple Economics of Mandated Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(2), pages 177-83, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Susan Dynarski, 2000. "Hope for Whom? Financial Aid for the Middle Class and Its Impact on College Attendance," NBER Working Papers 7756, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Joshua D. Angrist, 1993. "The effect of veterans' benefits on education and earnings," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 46(4), pages 637-652, July.
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