Dormitories or grants? Need-based aid and university students’ mobility in Italy
研究意大利基于需求的学生资助体系如何影响新生选择就读地点和专业，发现增加宿舍容量能显著提升入学率，而助学金效果不显著。
We study how Italy’s need-based student-aid system ( Diritto allo Studio Universitario , DSU) shapes first-time entrants’ choices of where and what to study by linking administrative records on first-time enrolments to university characteristics and DSU service provision. Using a Latent Class Logit model that accounts for heterogeneity in preferences, we find that dormitory capacity for eligible students substantially increases enrolment: adding 100 places raises enrolment at an average-sized institution by 5.3–9.6% ( equivalent to about 19 to 34 additional students ). By contrast, grants show no statistically significant effect. Dormitory availability matters most for students who lack a nearby university and those in STEM fields. Simulations focused on alternative expansions of dormitory supply suggest that a nationwide increase reallocates enrolment toward central/northern hubs and higher-quality institutions, whereas regionally targeted support in the South only marginally curbs South-to-North flows. • Dormitory availability significantly increases enrolment rates. • STEM students and those without local options are more responsive to dormitory supply. • Expansion of student aid boosts enrolment in higher-quality institutions and major university hubs. • Financial grants show negligible and inconclusive effects.