RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Building the Stock of College-Educated Labor
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 576
OP 610
DO 10.3368/jhr.43.3.576
VO 43
IS 3
A1 Dynarski, Susan
YR 2008
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/3/576.abstract
AB 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.