Marginal Effects of Merit Aid for Low-Income Students
通过随机分配苏珊·汤普森·巴菲特基金会的助学金，研究发现助学金使四年制大学申请者的学士学位完成率提高约8个百分点，且对原本不太可能读四年制大学的学生效果更显著。
Abstract Financial aid from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (STBF) provides comprehensive support to a student population similar to that served by a host of state aid programs. In conjunction with STBF, we randomly assigned aid awards to thousands of Nebraska high school graduates from low-income, minority, and first-generation college households. Randomly assigned STBF awards boost bachelor’s (BA) degree completion for students targeting four-year schools by about 8 points. Degree gains are concentrated among four-year college applicants who would otherwise have been unlikely to pursue a four-year program. Degree effects are mediated by award-induced increases in credits earned toward a BA in the first year of college. The extent of initial four-year college engagement explains differences in impact by target campus and across covariate subgroups. The projected lifetime earnings effect of awards exceeds marginal educational spending for all of the subgroups examined in the study. Projected earnings gains exceed funder costs for urban students and for students with relatively weak academic preparation.