TY - JOUR T1 - Building the Stock of College-Educated Labor JF - Journal of Human Resources JO - J Hum Resour SP - 576 LP - 610 DO - 10.3368/jhr.43.3.576 VL - 43 IS - 3 AU - Susan Dynarski Y1 - 2008/07/01 UR - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/3/576.abstract N2 - 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. ER -