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State Merit Aid Programs and College Major: A Focus on STEM

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  • David L. Sjoquist
  • John V. Winters

Abstract

Since 1991 more than two dozen states have adopted merit-based student financial aid programs, intended at least in part to increase the stock of human capital by improving the knowledge and skills of the state's workforce. At the same time, there has been growing concern that the United States is producing too few college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Using microdata from the American Community Survey, this paper examines whether recently adopted state merit aid programs have affected college major decisions, with a focus on STEM fields. We find consistent evidence that state merit programs did in fact reduce the likelihood that a young person in the state will earn a STEM degree.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/681108
    DOI: 10.1086/681108
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    Cited by:

    1. Cowan, Benjamin W. & White, Dustin R., 2015. "The effects of merit-based financial aid on drinking in college," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 137-149.
    2. Mikola, Derek & Webb, Matthew D., 2023. "Finish it and it is free: An evaluation of college graduation subsidies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. Kelchen, Robert & Ortagus, Justin & Rosinger, Kelly & Cassell, Alex, 2022. "The effects of state performance funding policies on student loan debt," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Hill, Andrew J., 2017. "State affirmative action bans and STEM degree completions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 31-40.
    5. Winters, John V., 2014. "STEM graduates, human capital externalities, and wages in the U.S," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 190-198.
    6. Sano, Shinpei, 2019. "The effect of student loans on college enrollment: Evidence from municipality panel data in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    7. Zachary Bleemer, 2022. "Affirmative Action, Mismatch, and Economic Mobility after California’s Proposition 209," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 115-160.
    8. Shimeng Liu & Weizeng Sun & John V. Winters, 2019. "Up In Stem, Down In Business: Changing College Major Decisions With The Great Recession," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(3), pages 476-491, July.
    9. Peter Arcidiacono & Esteban M. Aucejo & V. Joseph Hotz, 2016. "University Differences in the Graduation of Minorities in STEM Fields: Evidence from California," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(3), pages 525-562, March.
    10. Serena Canaan & Antoine Deeb & Pierre Mouganie, 2022. "Adviser Value Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 151-191, November.
    11. Yi Lu & Hong Song, 2020. "The effect of educational technology on college students’ labor market performance," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 1101-1126, July.
    12. French, Robert & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2017. "Behavioral barriers transitioning to college," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 48-63.
    13. Todd R. Jones & Daniel Kreisman & Ross Rubenstein & Cynthia Searcy & Rachana Bhatt, 2022. "The Effects of Financial Aid Loss on Persistence and Graduation: A Multi-Dimensional Regression Discontinuity Approach," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 17(2), pages 206-231, Spring.
    14. 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.
    15. Rajashri Chakrabarti & Nicole Gorton & Joydeep Roy, 2018. "Getting ahead by spending more? Local community response to state merit aid programs," Staff Reports 872, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    16. Mumford, Kevin J. & Patterson, Richard & Yim, Anthony, 2024. "College Course Shutouts," IZA Discussion Papers 16859, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Haggag, Kareem & Patterson, Richard W. & Pope, Nolan G. & Feudo, Aaron, 2021. "Attribution bias in major decisions: Evidence from the United States Military Academy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Wang, Jiaxin & Huang, Hongyan & Huang, Xiang & Sun, Di & Song, Zilong, 2024. "Returning from overseas: STEMs migration and corporate digitalization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    20. 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.
    21. Welch, Jilleah G., 2014. "HOPE for community college students: The impact of merit aid on persistence, graduation, and earnings," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-20.
    22. Bryan, Gharad & Chowdhury, Shyamal & Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq & Morten, Melanie & Smits, Joeri, 2021. "Encouragement and Distortionary Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers," IZA Discussion Papers 14326, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. 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).
    24. 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).
    25. Winters, John V., 2014. "Foreign and Native-Born STEM Graduates and Innovation Intensity in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 8575, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    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

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