IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/upj/weupjo/21-350.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Beyond degrees: Longer term outcomes of the Kalamazoo Promise

Author

Listed:
  • Brad J. Hershbein

    (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

  • Isabel McMullen

    (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

  • Brian Pittelko

    (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

  • Bridget Timmeney

    (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research)

Abstract

We estimate the effects on workforce and location outcomes of the Kalamazoo Promise, a generous, place-based college scholarship. Drawing upon administrative unemployment insurance wage records merged with individual-level education data, we identify Promise effects by comparing eligible to ineligible graduates before and after the Promise’s initiation. We supplement this quantitative analysis with surveys and interviews. Despite earlier research showing that the Kalamazoo Promise substantially increased degree attainment, we find little evidence that the program affected average earnings within 10 years of high school graduation. However, the Kalamazoo Promise may have increased the likelihood of eligible graduates having earnings, within Michigan, in the middle of the distribution. We discuss the possible role of job availability in understanding these patterns and the implications for free-tuition college programs as a workforce development tool.

Suggested Citation

  • Brad J. Hershbein & Isabel McMullen & Brian Pittelko & Bridget Timmeney, 2021. "Beyond degrees: Longer term outcomes of the Kalamazoo Promise," Upjohn Working Papers 21-350, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:upj:weupjo:21-350
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1369&context=up_workingpapers
    Download Restriction: This material is copyrighted. Permission is required to reproduce any or all parts.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rajashri Chakrabarti & Nicole Gorton & Michael F. Lovenheim, 2020. "State Investment in Higher Education: Effects on Human Capital Formation, Student Debt, and Long-Term Financial Outcomes of Students," CESifo Working Paper Series 8592, CESifo.
    2. 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.
    3. Timothy J. Bartik & Brad J. Hershbein & Marta Lachowska, 2015. "The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on College Enrollment, Persistence, and Completion," Upjohn Working Papers 15-228, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    4. Phillip B. Levine & David J. Zimmerman, 2010. "Introduction to "Targeting Investments in Children: Fighting Poverty When Resources are Limited"," NBER Chapters, in: Targeting Investments in Children: Fighting Poverty When Resources Are Limited, pages 3-11, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Timothy J. Bartik & Marta Lachowska, "undated". "The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship," Upjohn Working Papers tjbml14, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    6. Robert Picard, 2010. "GEODIST: Stata module to compute geographical distances," Statistical Software Components S457147, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 24 Jun 2019.
    7. Michelle Miller-Adams (ed.), 2015. "Promise Nation: Transforming Communities through Place-Based Scholarships," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number pn, November.
    8. Joshua Angrist & David Autor & Amanda Pallais, 2023. "Marginal Effects of Merit Aid for Low-Income Students," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(2), pages 1039-1090.
    9. Brad J. Hershbein, 2013. "A Second Look at Enrollment Changes after the Kalamazoo Promise," Upjohn Working Papers 13-200, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    10. Brad Hershbein & Melissa S. Kearney & Luke W. Pardue, 2020. "College Attainment, Income Inequality, and Economic Security: A Simulation Exercise," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 352-355, May.
    11. Bartik, Timothy J. & Hershbein, Brad & Lachowska, Marta, 2016. "The Merits of Universal Scholarships: Benefit-Cost Evidence from the Kalamazoo Promise," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(3), pages 400-433, October.
    12. Seth D. Zimmerman, 2014. "The Returns to College Admission for Academically Marginal Students," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(4), pages 711-754.
    13. Rajashri Chakrabarti & William Nober & Wilbert Van der Klaauw, 2020. "Do College Tuition Subsidies Boost Spending and Reduce Debt? Impacts by Income and Race," Liberty Street Economics 20200708d, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lindsay C. Page & Jennifer E. Iriti & Danielle J. Lowry & Aaron M. Anthony, 2019. "The Promise of Place-Based Investment in Postsecondary Access and Success: Investigating the Impact of the Pittsburgh Promise," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 14(4), pages 572-600, Fall.
    2. LeGower, Michael & Walsh, Randall, 2017. "Promise scholarship programs as place-making policy: Evidence from school enrollment and housing prices," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 74-89.
    3. Elaine W. Leigh & Manuel S. González Canché, 2021. "The College Promise in Communities: Do Place-based Scholarships Affect Residential Mobility Patterns?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(3), pages 259-308, May.
    4. Timothy J. Bartik & Brad J. Hershbein & Marta Lachowska, 2015. "The Effects of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship on College Enrollment, Persistence, and Completion," Upjohn Working Papers 15-228, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    5. Deven E. Carlson & Alex Schmidt & Sarah Souders & Barbara L. Wolfe, 2020. "The Effects of Need-Based Financial Aid on Employment and Earnings: Experimental Evidence from the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars," NBER Working Papers 27125, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Robert Bifulco & Ross Rubenstein & Hosung Sohn, 2017. "Using Synthetic Controls to Evaluate the Effect of Unique Interventions: The Case of Say Yes to Education," Evaluation Review, , vol. 41(6), pages 593-619, December.
    7. 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.
    8. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    9. Iriti, Jennifer & Page, Lindsay C. & Bickel, William E., 2018. "Place-based scholarships: Catalysts for systems reform to improve postsecondary attainment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 137-148.
    10. Joshua Goodman & Oded Gurantz & Jonathan Smith, 2020. "Take Two! SAT Retaking and College Enrollment Gaps," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 115-158, May.
    11. Mike Zabek, 2024. "Local Ties in Spatial Equilibrium," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 287-317, April.
    12. Timothy J. Bartik & Nathan Sotherland, 2015. "Migration and Housing Price Effects of Place-Based College Scholarships," Upjohn Working Papers 15-245, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    13. Charles T. Clotfelter & Steven W. Hemelt & Helen F. Ladd, 2018. "Multifaceted Aid For Low‐Income Students And College Outcomes: Evidence From North Carolina," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 278-303, January.
    14. 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).
    15. 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.
    16. Alberto Martini & Davide Azzolini & Barbara Romano & Loris Vergolini, 2021. "Increasing College Going by Incentivizing Savings: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Italy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(3), pages 814-840, June.
    17. Anderson, Drew M. & Goldrick-Rab, Sara, 2018. "Aid after enrollment: Impacts of a statewide grant program at public two-year colleges," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 148-157.
    18. Jeffrey T. Denning & Benjamin M. Marx & Lesley J. Turner, 2019. "ProPelled: The Effects of Grants on Graduation, Earnings, and Welfare," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 193-224, July.
    19. French, Robert & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2017. "Behavioral barriers transitioning to college," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 48-63.
    20. Ibsen, Kristoffer & Rosholm, Michael, 2024. "What Works? Interventions Aimed At Reducing Student Dropout in Higher Education," IZA Discussion Papers 16853, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    place-based scholarship; difference-in-differences; mixed methods; workforce outcomes; earnings; migration; education policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:upj:weupjo:21-350. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/upjohus.html .

    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.