Building the Stock of College-Educated Labor
利用准实验方法分析两个州奖学金项目，发现其使大学学位持有率提高3个百分点，且对女性效果更强；成本收益分析表明即使回报率低至5%项目仍具社会效率，但免费学费仍无法阻止大量辍学。
Abstract Half of college students drop out without completing a degree. This paper establishes a causal link between college costs and degree completion. I use quasi-experimental methodology to analyze two state scholarship programs. The programs increase the share of the exposed population with a college degree by three percentage points, with stronger effects among women. A cost-benefit analysis indicates that the programs are socially efficient at rates of return to schooling as low as 5 percent. Even with the offer of free tuition, many students continue to drop out, suggesting tuition costs are not the only impediment to college completion.