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Closing the Gap: The Effect of Reducing Complexity and Uncertainty in College Pricing on the Choices of Low-Income Students

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  • Susan Dynarski
  • CJ Libassi
  • Katherine Michelmore
  • Stephanie Owen

Abstract

High-achieving, low-income students attend selective colleges at far lower rates than upper-income students with similar achievement. Behavioral biases, intensified by complexity and uncertainty in the admissions and aid process, may explain this gap. In a large-scale experiment we test an early commitment of free tuition at a flagship university. The intervention did not increase aid: rather, students were guaranteed before application the same grant aid that they would qualify for in expectation if admitted. The offer substantially increased application (68 percent versus 26 percent) and enrollment rates (27 percent versus 12 percent). The results suggest that uncertainty, present bias, and loss aversion loom large in students' college decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan Dynarski & CJ Libassi & Katherine Michelmore & Stephanie Owen, 2021. "Closing the Gap: The Effect of Reducing Complexity and Uncertainty in College Pricing on the Choices of Low-Income Students," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(6), pages 1721-1756, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:111:y:2021:i:6:p:1721-56
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20200451
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    Cited by:

    1. Landaud, Fanny & Maurin, Eric, 2022. "Tracking When Ranking Matters," IZA Discussion Papers 15157, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Lucie Martin & Liam Delaney & Orla Doyle, 2022. "Everyday Administrative Burdens and Inequality," Working Papers 202202, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    3. Shiqi Jiang & Lingli Qi & Xinyue Lin, 2022. "The Impacts of COVID-19 Shock on Intergenerational Income Mobility: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-20, September.
    4. Sarah Cohodes & Sean P. Corcoran & Jennifer Jennings & Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, 2022. "When Do Informational Interventions Work? Experimental Evidence from New York City High School Choice," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 057, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    5. Chen, Yan & He, YingHua, 2021. "Information acquisition and provision in school choice: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Raphael Brade & Oliver Himmler & Robert Jaeckle, 2023. "Relative Performance Feedback and Long-Term Tasks – Experimental Evidence from Higher Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 10346, CESifo.
    7. Renée, Laëtitia, 2022. "The long-term effects of financial aid and career education: Evidence from a randomized experiment," CLEF Working Paper Series 46, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    8. Penney, Jeffrey & Lehrer, Steven F. & Bernal, Gloria L. & Reyes, Luis Carlos, 2023. "Do opportunities for low-income students at top colleges promote academic success? Evidence from Colombia's Ser Pilo Paga program," CLEF Working Paper Series 64, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    9. Taylor K. Odle & Jennifer A. Delaney, 2022. "You are Admitted! Early Evidence on Enrollment from Idaho’s Direct Admissions System," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(6), pages 899-932, September.
    10. Seema Kacker & Mario Macis & Prateek Gajwani & David S. Friedman, 2022. "Providing vouchers and value information for already free eye exams increases uptake among a low‐income minority population: A randomized trial," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 541-551, March.
    11. Rodrigo Zeidan & Silvio Luiz de Almeida & In'acio B'o & Neil Lewis Jr, 2023. "Racial and income-based affirmative action in higher education admissions: lessons from the Brazilian experience," Papers 2304.13936, arXiv.org.
    12. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 16/2021, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    13. Pugatch, Todd & Thompson, Paul, 2022. "Excellence for all? University honors programs and human capital formation," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1112, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Cook, Emily E. & Turner, Sarah, 2022. "Progressivity of pricing at US public universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Tomás Monarrez & Lesley J. Turner, 2024. "The Effect of Student Loan Payment Burdens on Borrower Outcomes," Working Papers 24-08, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    16. Canaan, Serena & Mouganie, Pierre & Zhang, Peng, 2022. "The Long-Run Educational Benefits of High-Achieving Classrooms," IZA Discussion Papers 15039, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Tuuli Paukkeri & Terhi Ravaska, 2024. "Labour Supply Responses to Reducing the Risk of Losing Disability Insurance Benefits," Working Papers 20, Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research.
    18. Fernanda Estevan & Lucas Finamor, 2022. "School closures and educational path: how the Covid-19 pandemic affected transitions to college," Papers 2210.00138, arXiv.org.
    19. Phillip B. Levine & Dubravka Ritter, 2022. "The Racial Wealth Gap, Financial Aid, and College Access," NBER Working Papers 30490, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Paukkeri, Tuuli & Ravaska, Terhi, 2024. "Labour supply responses to reducing the risk of losing disability insurance benefits," Working Papers 163, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    21. Lucie Martin & Liam Delaney & Orla Doyle, 2022. "Everyday Administrative Burdens and Inequality," Working Papers 202202, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    22. Emily G. Moschini & Gajendran Raveendranathan & Ming Xu, 2022. "Over-optimism About Graduation and College Financial Aid," Department of Economics Working Papers 2022-09, McMaster University.
    23. Cervantes, Carla Varona & Cooper, Russell, 2022. "Labor market implications of education mismatch," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    24. Andrew Leigh, 2021. "Australian Mobility Report Cards: Which Universities Admit the Most Disadvantaged Students?," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(3), pages 331-342, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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