IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v32y2007i2p261-275.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does reducing student support affect scholastic performance? Evidence from a Dutch reform

Author

Listed:
  • Michèle Belot
  • Erik Canton
  • Dinand Webbink

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of student support on performance and time allocation of students in Dutch higher education. In 1996 the maximum duration of grants was reduced by 1 year, and thereby limited to the nominal duration of the study program. This reform could have had substantial financial consequences for students. We evaluate the effects of the reform using a difference-in-differences approach. Our main findings are that after the reform, students early in their study (i) switched less to other programs, (ii) obtained higher grades, while (iii) they did not spend more time studying or working. In addition, for students not older than 20 years when they started their study we find larger effects on all performance variables (switching, percentage of completed courses, graduation in the first year and grade point averages). These findings are consistent with recent evidence on heterogeneous treatment effects for higher ability students.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Michèle Belot & Erik Canton & Dinand Webbink, 2007. "Does reducing student support affect scholastic performance? Evidence from a Dutch reform," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:32:y:2007:i:2:p:261-275
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-006-0094-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s00181-006-0094-1
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-006-0094-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek & Bas van der Klaauw, 2010. "The Effect of Financial Rewards on Students' Achievement: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(6), pages 1243-1265, December.
    2. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    3. Christopher Avery & Caroline Minter Hoxby, 2004. "Do and Should Financial Aid Packages Affect Students' College Choices?," NBER Chapters, in: College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It, pages 239-302, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Eric Bettinger, 2004. "How Financial Aid Affects Persistence," NBER Chapters, in: College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It, pages 207-238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Been, Jim & Knoef, Marike, 2023. "Student loans, spending, and parental transfers: insights from a nudge in student loan policy in the Netherlands," Other publications TiSEM d360b770-5a7a-449a-84be-3, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Azzolini, Davide & Martini, Alberto & Rettore, Enrico & Romano, Barbara & Schizzerotto, Antonio & Vergolini, Loris, 2018. "Testing a Social Innovation in Financial Aid for Low-Income Students: Experimental Evidence from Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 11625, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Erik Canton & A. Blom, 2004. "Do student loans improve accessibility to higher education and student performance? An impact study of the SOFES program in Mexico," CPB Discussion Paper 33, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. V. Rattini, 2014. "The Causal Effect of Scholarships Targeted at Low Income Students on Performance: Evidence from Italy," Working Papers wp968, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    5. Giorgio Di Pietro, 2012. "The Bologna Process and widening participation in university education: new evidence from Italy," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(3), pages 357-374, August.
    6. Tommaso Agasisti & Samuele Murtinu, 2013. "Are we wasting public money? No! The effects of grants on Italian university students’ performances," Working Papers 2013/33, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    7. Booij, Adam S. & Leuven, Edwin & Oosterbeek, Hessel, 2012. "The role of information in the take-up of student loans," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 33-44.
    8. Loris Vergolini & Nadir Zanini, 2012. "How does aid matter? The effect of financial aid on university enrolment decisions," Working Papers 2012/7, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    9. Tommaso Agasisti & Samuele Murtinu, 2013. "Are we wasting public money? No! The effects of grants on Italian university students’ performances," Working Papers 2013/33, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    10. Jacob Arendt, 2013. "The effect of public financial aid on dropout from and completion of university education: evidence from a student grant reform," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 1545-1562, June.
    11. de Gendre, Alexandra & Kabátek, Jan, 2021. "From Subsidies to Loans: The Effects of a National Student Finance Reform on the Choices of Secondary School Students," IZA Discussion Papers 14686, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Loris Vergolini & Nadir Zanini, 2012. "How does aid matter? The effect of financial aid on university enrolment decisions," Working Papers 2012/7, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    13. Minaya, Veronica & Agasisti, Tommaso & Bratti, Massimiliano, 2022. "When need meets merit: The effect of increasing merit requirements in need-based student aid," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    14. Veronica Rattini, 2022. "The Effects of Financial Aid on Graduation and Labor Market Outcomes: New Evidence from Matched Education-Labor Data," CESifo Working Paper Series 10010, CESifo.
    15. Roel van Elk & Michelle Ebens & Dinand Webbink & Adam Booij, 2011. "The effect of the supplementary grant on parental contribution in the Netherlands," CPB Discussion Paper 187, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    16. Canton, Erik & de Jong, Frank, 2005. "The demand for higher education in The Netherlands, 1950-1999," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 651-663, December.
    17. Marc van der Steeg, 2005. "Why should governments intervene in education, and how effective is education policy," CPB Memorandum 122, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christopher Erwin & Melissa Binder & Cynthia Miller & Kate Krause, 2020. "Performance-based aid, enhanced advising, and the income gap in college graduation: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial," Working Papers 2020-06, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    2. Michael S. Kofoed, 2022. "Pell Grants and Labor Supply: Evidence from a Regression Kink," Upjohn Working Papers 22-363, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    3. Celeste K. Carruthers & Jilleah G. Welch, 2015. "Not Whether, but Where? Pell Grants and College Choices," Working Papers 2015-04, University of Tennessee, Department of Economics, revised 28 Sep 2015.
    4. Loyalka, Prashant & Song, Yingquan & Wei, Jianguo & Zhong, Weiping & Rozelle, Scott, 2013. "Information, college decisions and financial aid: Evidence from a cluster-randomized controlled trial in China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 26-40.
    5. Ehrenberg, R.G.Ronald G., 2004. "Econometric studies of higher education," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 19-37.
    6. Elena Mattana & Juanna Joensen, 2016. "Student Aid, Academic Achievement, and Labor Market Behavior," 2016 Meeting Papers 1102, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Benjamin M. Marx & Lesley J. Turner, 2015. "Borrowing Trouble? Student Loans, the Cost of Borrowing, and Implications for the Effectiveness of Need-Based Grant Aid," NBER Working Papers 20850, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Canton, Erik & Blom, Andreas, 2004. "Can student loans improve accessibility to higher education and student performance? An impact study of the case of SOFES, Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3425, The World Bank.
    9. Michael S. Kofoed, 2017. "To Apply or Not to Apply: FAFSA Completion and Financial Aid Gaps," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(1), pages 1-39, February.
    10. Judith Scott-Clayton, 2012. "Information Constraints and Financial Aid Policy," NBER Working Papers 17811, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Elena Mattana & Juanna Joensen, 2014. "Student Aid, Academic Achievement, and Labor Market Behavior: Grants or Loans?," 2014 Meeting Papers 707, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    12. Bruce, Donald J. & Carruthers, Celeste K., 2014. "Jackpot? The impact of lottery scholarships on enrollment in Tennessee," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 30-44.
    13. Michèle Belot & Erik Canton & Dinand Webbink, 2004. "Does reducing student support affect educational choices and performance? Evidence from a Dutch reform," CPB Discussion Paper 35, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    14. Stella M. Flores & Justin C. Shepherd, 2014. "Pricing Out the Disadvantaged? The Effect of Tuition Deregulation in Texas Public Four-Year Institutions," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 655(1), pages 99-122, September.
    15. Carruthers, Celeste K. & Welch, Jilleah G., 2019. "Not whether, but where? Pell grants and college choices," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1-19.
    16. Gregory B. Upton, 2016. "The Effects of Merit-Based Scholarships on Educational Outcomes," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 235-261, June.
    17. Jacob Arendt, 2013. "The effect of public financial aid on dropout from and completion of university education: evidence from a student grant reform," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 1545-1562, June.
    18. Joshua Angrist & Daniel Lang & Philip Oreopoulos, 2006. "Lead Them to Water and Pay Them to Drink: An Experiment with Services and Incentives for College Achievement," NBER Working Papers 12790, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Gregory Gilpin & Michael Kofoed, 2020. "Employer-Sponsored Education Assistance and Graduate Program Choice, Cost, and Finance," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 61(4), pages 431-458, June.
    20. Guido de Blasio & Daniela Vuri, 2019. "Effects of the Joint Custody Law in Italy," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 479-514, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Student support; Student behaviour; Policy evaluation; I2; J24; J31;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:32:y:2007:i:2:p:261-275. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.