RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Was That SMART? Institutional Financial Incentives and Field of Study
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
DO 10.3368/jhr.52.1.0414-6340R1
A1 Denning, Jeffrey T.
A1 Turley, Patrick
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2016/03/04/jhr.52.1.0414-6340R1.abstract
AB We examine whether students respond to immediate financial incentives when choosing their college major. From 2006–07 to 2010–11, 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.