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The Effect of Merit-Based Scholarships on Educational Outcomes: An Analysis of the Arizona AIMS Scholarship

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect of a statewide merit-based scholarship program on educational outcomes in Arizona. It tests whether Arizona�s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scholarship has an effect on a comprehensive set of educational outcomes such as the number of applicants, student admissions, first-year first-time enrollment, ACT scores of entering freshman, retention rates, as well as on the level of tuition and fees at the three schools targeted by the program; Arizona State University, University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University. Both difference-in-differences estimation as well as synthetic control methods shows that AIMS has an economically and statistically significant effect on many of these outcomes, primarily enrollment and tuition. Enrollment effects are greatest among African American and Hispanic students and are significant for both men and women.

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  • Gregory Upton Jr., 2014. "The Effect of Merit-Based Scholarships on Educational Outcomes: An Analysis of the Arizona AIMS Scholarship," Departmental Working Papers 2014-01, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:lsu:lsuwpp:2014-01
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.

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