Looking beyond Enrollment: The Causal Effect of Need-Based Grants on College Access, Persistence, and Graduation
利用断点回归设计，研究发现佛罗里达学生助学金提高了低收入学生的大学入学率、学分积累和六年内学士学位完成率，对政策制定者有参考价值。
The government has attempted to ameliorate gaps in college access and success by providing need-based grants, but little evidence exists on the long-term impacts of such aid. We examine the effects of the Florida Student Access Grant (FSAG) using a regression-discontinuity strategy and exploiting the cut-off used to determine eligibility. We find that grant eligibility had a positive effect on attendance, particularly at public 4-year institutions. Moreover, FSAG increased the rate of credit accumulation and bachelor’s degree completion within 6 years, with a 22% increase for students near the eligibility cut-off. The effects are robust to sensitivity analysis.