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Merit Aid and Post-College Retention in the State

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  • David L. Sjoquist

    (Georgia State University)

  • John V. Winters

    (Oklahoma State University)

Abstract

One goal of state merit-based financial aid programs is to increase the stock of college-educated labor in the state by retaining college-educated persons in the state after college.However, there has been surprisingly little research on whether state merit aid programs are effective at this goal. This paper investigates the effect of state merit aid programs on the post-college location of 2430 year olds. We use decennial census and American Community Survey micro data to consider post-college retention effects in the 25 states that implemented merit aid programs between 1991 and 2004. Our preferred specification implies that strong state merit aid programs on average increase the probability that a college attendee lives in his or her birth state during ages 24-30 by 2.76 percentage points. We also estimate the effect for individual states and find meaningful differences across states in the effect of merit aid programs on in-state post-college retention and explore explanations for these differences.

Suggested Citation

  • David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2013. "Merit Aid and Post-College Retention in the State," Economics Working Paper Series 1407, Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:okl:wpaper:1407
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    Cited by:

    1. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2015. "State Merit Aid Programs and College Major: A Focus on STEM," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(4), pages 973-1006.
    2. John V. Winters, 2017. "Do earnings by college major affect graduate migration?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 59(3), pages 629-649, November.
    3. Fitzpatrick, Maria D. & Jones, Damon, 2016. "Post-baccalaureate migration and merit-based scholarships," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 155-172.
    4. Zhengyu Cai & Heather M. Stephens & John V. Winters, 2019. "Motherhood, migration, and self-employment of college graduates," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 611-629, October.
    5. John V. Winters, 2018. "Do higher college graduation rates increase local education levels?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(3), pages 617-638, August.
    6. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2016. "The Effects of State Merit Aid Programs on Attendance at Elite Colleges," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 83(2), pages 527-549, October.
    7. John V. Winters, 2022. "No Place Like Home: Place-Based Attachments and Regional Science," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 52(2), pages 159-175.
    8. Elsayed, Mahmoud A.A., 2016. "The Impact of Education Tax Benefits on College Completion," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 16-30.
    9. Tyler Ransom & John V. Winters, 2021. "Do Foreigners Crowd Natives out of STEM Degrees and Occupations? Evidence from the US Immigration Act of 1990," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(2), pages 321-351, March.
    10. David L. Sjoquist & John V. Winters, 2015. "State Merit-Based Financial Aid Programs And College Attainment," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 364-390, June.
    11. Yasuhiro Sato & Masaaki Toma, 2017. "Transition of Spatial Distribution of Human Capital in　Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1046, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    12. Sara Binassi & Giovanni Guidetti & Mariele Macaluso & Giulio Pedrini, 2021. "Assessing selection patterns and wage differentials of high-skilled migrants. Evidence from Italian graduates working abroad," QUADERNI DI ECONOMIA DEL LAVORO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(113), pages 83-115.
    13. Robert R. Dunn, 2015. "Outmigration and State and Local Appropriations for Public Higher Education," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 45(3), pages 237-251, Winter.
    14. Winters, John V., 2014. "The Production and Stock of College Graduates for U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 8730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. 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.
    16. Dennis A. Kramer & Justin C. Ortagus & T. Austin Lacy, 2018. "Tuition-Setting Authority and Broad-Based Merit Aid: The Effect of Policy Intersection on Pricing Strategies," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(4), pages 489-518, June.
    17. Sjoquist, David L. & Winters, John V., 2013. "The effects of HOPE on post-college retention in the Georgia workforce," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 479-490.
    18. David Sjoquist & John Winters, 2015. "The effect of Georgia’s HOPE scholarship on college major: a focus on STEM," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-29, December.
    19. repec:rre:publsh:v:52:y:2022:i:2 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Yasuhiro Sato & Masaaki Toma, 2017. "Transition of Spatial Distribution of Human Capital in　Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1046, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    21. 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.
    22. Braga, Breno & Malkova, Olga, 2020. "Hope for the Family: The Effects of College Costs on Maternal Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 12958, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Han, Luyi & Winters, John V., 2020. "Industry Fluctuations and College Major Choices: Evidence from an Energy Boom and Bust," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    college education; merit aid; migration; retention; brain drain;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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