RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Was That SMART?
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 152
OP 186
DO 10.3368/jhr.52.1.0414-6340R1
VO 52
IS 1
A1 Jeffrey T. Denning
A1 Patrick Turley
YR 2017
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/52/1/152.abstract
AB We examine whether students respond to immediate financial incentives when choosing their college major. From 2006–2007 to 2010–2011, low-income students in technical or foreign language majors could receive up to $8,000 in SMART Grants. Since income-eligibility was determined using a strict threshold, we determine the causal impact of this grant on student major with a regression discontinuity design. Using administrative data from public universities in Texas, we determine that income-eligible students were 3.2 percentage points more likely than their ineligible peers to major in targeted fields. We measure a larger impact of 10.2 percentage points at Brigham Young University.