IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/restat/v86y2004i3p767-782.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does the Format of a Financial Aid Program Matter? The Effect of State In-Kind Tuition Subsidies

Author

Listed:
  • Bridget Terry Long

    (Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, and NBER)

Abstract

This paper examines the importance of format in aid programs, focusing on state appropriations to public postsecondary institutions. These funds subsidize costs for in-state students, but they may also influence choices between institutions due to their in-kind format. Using the conditional logistic choice model and extensive match-specific information, the paper approximates the choice between nearly 2700 college options to examine the effect of several dissimilar state systems. The results suggest that the level and distribution pattern of subsidies strongly affect decisions. If the aid could instead be applied to any in-state college, up to 29% more students would prefer to attend private four-year colleges. © 2004 President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Bridget Terry Long, 2004. "Does the Format of a Financial Aid Program Matter? The Effect of State In-Kind Tuition Subsidies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(3), pages 767-782, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:86:y:2004:i:3:p:767-782
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/0034653041811653
    File Function: link to full text
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    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. Thomas J. Kane, 1995. "Rising Public College Tuition and College Entry: How Well Do Public Subsidies Promote Access to College?," NBER Working Papers 5164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Terry Long, B.Bridget, 2004. "How have college decisions changed over time? An application of the conditional logistic choice model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 271-296.
    3. Sonstelie, Jon, 1982. "The Welfare Cost of Free Public Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(4), pages 794-808, August.
    4. Caroline M. Hoxby & Bridget Terry, 1999. "Explaining Rising Income and wage Inequality Among the College Educated," NBER Working Papers 6873, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Victor R. Fuchs, 1996. "Individual and Social Responsibility: Child Care, Education, Medical Care, and Long-Term Care in America," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number fuch96-1, January.
    6. Ganderton, Philip T., 1992. "The effect of subsidies in kind on the choice of a college," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 269-292, August.
    7. Pechman, Joseph A, 1972. "Note on the Intergenerational Transfer of Public Higher-Education Benefits," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(3), pages 256-259, Part II, .
    8. Allen, Robert F. & Shen, Jianshou, 1999. "Some new evidence of the character of competition among higher education institutions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 465-470, October.
    9. Fuchs, Victor R. (ed.), 1996. "Individual and Social Responsibility," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226267869, October.
    10. John M. Quigley & Daniel L. Rubinfeld, 1993. "Public Choices in Public Higher Education," NBER Chapters, in: Studies of Supply and Demand in Higher Education, pages 243-284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Peltzman, Sam, 1973. "The Effect of Government Subsidies-in-Kind on Private Expenditures: The Case of Higher Education," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(1), pages 1-27, Jan.-Feb..
    12. James M. Poterba, 1996. "Government Intervention in the Markets for Education and Health Care: How and Why?," NBER Chapters, in: Individual and Social Responsibility: Child Care, Education, Medical Care, and Long-Term Care in America, pages 277-308, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Johnson, George E, 1984. "Subsidies for Higher Education," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 303-318, July.
    14. Daniel McFadden, 1977. "Quantitative Methods for Analyzing Travel Behaviour of Individuals: Some Recent Developments," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 474, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    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. Schmidt, Alejandro & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios & Paredes, Ricardo D., 2019. "Heterogeneity and college choice: Latent class modelling for improved policy making," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    2. Adam Altmejd & Andrés Barrios-Fernández & Marin Drlje & Joshua Goodman & Michael Hurwitz & Dejan Kovac & Christine Mulhern & Christopher Neilson & Jonathan Smith, 2021. "O Brother, Where Start Thou? Sibling Spillovers on College and Major Choice in Four Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 136(3), pages 1831-1886.
    3. Hurwitz, Michael & Goodman, Joshua Samuel & Smith, Jonathan & Fox, Julia, 2015. "The relationship between siblings’ college choices: Evidence from one million SAT-taking families," Scholarly Articles 22805380, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Pertti Haaparanta & Ravi Kanbur & Tuuli Paukkeri & Jukka Pirttilä & Matti Tuomala, 2022. "Promoting education under distortionary taxation: equality of opportunity versus welfarism," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(2), pages 281-297, June.
    5. Goodman, Joshua & Hurwitz, Michael & Smith, Jonathan, 2014. "Sibling (Non) Rivalry: The Relationship between Siblings' College Choices," Working Paper Series rwp14-028, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Andrés Barrios-Fernández, 2022. "Neighbors' Effects on University Enrollment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 30-60, July.
    7. Bridget T. Long, 2004. "The Impact of Federal Tax Credits for Higher Education Expenses," NBER Chapters, in: College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It, pages 101-168, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Bridget Terry Long, 2014. "The Financial Crisis and College Enrollment: How Have Students and Their Families Responded?," NBER Chapters, in: How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education, pages 209-233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. George B. Bulman & Caroline M. Hoxby, 2015. "The Returns to the Federal Tax Credits for Higher Education," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 13-88.
    10. Broner, Fernando A. & Gaston Gelos, R. & Reinhart, Carmen M., 2006. "When in peril, retrench: Testing the portfolio channel of contagion," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 203-230, June.
    11. Mulyaningsih, Tri & Dong, Sarah & Miranti, Riyana & Daly, Anne & Purwaningsih, Yunastiti, 2022. "Targeted scholarship for higher education and academic performance: Evidence from Indonesia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Hashem Dezhbakhsh & John A. Karikari, 2010. "Enrollment At Highly Selective Private Colleges: Who Is Left Behind?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(1), pages 94-109, January.
    13. Dickson, Lisa & Pender, Matea, 2013. "Do in-state tuition benefits affect the enrollment of non-citizens? Evidence from universities in Texas," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 126-137.
    14. Christopher Neilson & Adam Altmejd & Andres Barrios-Fernandez & Marin Drlje & Dejan Kovac, 2019. "Siblings' Effects on College and Major Choices: Evidence from Chile, Croatia and Sweden," Working Papers 633, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    15. Mikołaj Czajkowski & Tomasz Gajderowicz & Marek Giergiczny & Gabriela Grotkowska & Urszula Sztandar-Sztanderska, 2020. "Choosing the Future: Economic Preferences for Higher Education Using Discrete Choice Experiment Method," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 61(4), pages 510-539, June.
    16. Eric Bettinger & Bridget Terry Long, 2004. "Shape Up or Ship Out: The Effects of Remediation on Students at Four-Year Colleges," NBER Working Papers 10369, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Eric P. Bettinger & Bridget Terry Long, 2009. "Addressing the Needs of Underprepared Students in Higher Education: Does College Remediation Work?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    18. Eric Bettinger & Oded Gurantz & Laura Kawano & Bruce Sacerdote, 2016. "The Long Run Impacts of Merit Aid: Evidence from California’s Cal Grant," NBER Working Papers 22347, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Monks, James, 2009. "The impact of merit-based financial aid on college enrollment: A field experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 99-106, February.
    20. Lindsay C. Page & Judith Scott-Clayton, 2015. "Improving College Access in the United States: Barriers and Policy Responses," NBER Working Papers 21781, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Gary T. Henry & Kevin C. Bastian & C. Kevin Fortner & David C. Kershaw & Kelly M. Purtell & Charles L. Thompson & Rebecca A. Zulli, 2014. "Teacher Preparation Policies and Their Effects on Student Achievement," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(3), pages 264-303, July.
    22. Page, Lindsay C. & Scott-Clayton, Judith, 2016. "Improving college access in the United States: Barriers and policy responses," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 4-22.
    23. Rajashri Chakrabarti & Joydeep Roy, 2013. "Merit Aid, Student Mobility, and the Role of College Selectivity," Staff Reports 641, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    24. Niu, Sunny Xinchun & Tienda, Marta & Cortes, Kalena, 2006. "College selectivity and the Texas top 10% law," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 259-272, June.

    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. Hans J. Baumgartner & Viktor Steiner, 2004. "Enrolment into Higher Education and Changes in Repayment Obligations of Student Aid – Microeconometric Evidence for Germany," HEW 0410003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ashantha Ranasinghe & Xuejuan Su, 2023. "When social assistance meets market power: A mixed duopoly view of health insurance in the United States," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(4), pages 851-869, October.
    3. Eric A. Hanushek, 1998. "Conclusions and controversies about the effectiveness of school resources," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 4(Mar), pages 11-27.
    4. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro & Michael Sinkinson, 2014. "Competition and Ideological Diversity: Historical Evidence from US Newspapers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3073-3114, October.
    5. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein & Mark R. Cullen, 2010. "Estimating Welfare in Insurance Markets Using Variation in Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 125(3), pages 877-921.
    6. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    7. Victor R. Fuchs, 2005. "Health, Government, and Irving Fisher," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(1), pages 407-425, January.
    8. Welsch, David M. & Winden, Matthew W. & Zimmer, David M., 2022. "The effect of flood mitigation spending on flood damage: Accounting for dynamic feedback," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    9. Hanushek, Eric A. & Leung, Charles Ka Yui & Yilmaz, Kuzey, 2003. "Redistribution through education and other transfer mechanisms," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(8), pages 1719-1750, November.
    10. Matthew Panhans, 2019. "Adverse Selection in ACA Exchange Markets: Evidence from Colorado," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 1-36, April.
    11. Stephanie R. Cellini & Rajeev Darolia & Lesley J. Turner, 2020. "Where Do Students Go When For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 46-83, May.
    12. Tilman Klumpp & Xuejuan Su, 2019. "Price–quality competition in a mixed duopoly," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 21(3), pages 400-432, June.
    13. Gasparini, Leonardo C. & Pinto, Santiago M., 2006. "Equality of opportunity and optimal cash and in-kind policies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 143-169, January.
    14. Thomas Dee, 2005. "The Effects of Catholic Schooling on Civic Participation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(5), pages 605-625, September.
    15. Amy Finkelstein & Nathaniel Hendren, 2020. "Welfare Analysis Meets Causal Inference," NBER Working Papers 27640, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein & Raymond Kluender & Paul Schrimpf, 2016. "Beyond Statistics: The Economic Content of Risk Scores," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 195-224, April.
    17. Limwattananon, Supon & Neelsen, Sven & O'Donnell, Owen & Prakongsai, Phusit & Tangcharoensathien, Viroj & van Doorslaer, Eddy & Vongmongkol, Vuthiphan, 2015. "Universal coverage with supply-side reform: The impact on medical expenditure risk and utilization in Thailand," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 79-94.
    18. Joshua C. Hall, 2006. "Positive Externalities and Government Involvement in Education," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Spring 20), pages 165-175.
    19. Hitoshi Shigeoka, 2014. "The Effect of Patient Cost Sharing on Utilization, Health, and Risk Protection," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(7), pages 2152-2184, July.
    20. Katherine Baicker & Jonathan Skinner, 2011. "Health Care Spending Growth and the Future of U.S. Tax Rates," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(1), pages 39-68.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

    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:tpr:restat:v:86:y:2004:i:3:p:767-782. 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: Kelly McDougall (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://direct.mit.edu/journals .

    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.