Was That SMART?: Institutional Financial Incentives and Field of Study

• Autores: Jeffrey T. Denning, Patrick Turley
• Localización: Journal of human resources, ISSN 0022-166X, Vol. 52, Nº 1, 2017, págs. 152-186
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • ABSTRACT:We examine whether students respond to immediate financial incentives when choosing their college major. From 2006–2007 to 2010–2011, low-income students in technical or foreign language majors could receive up to $8,000 in SMART Grants. Since income-eligibility was determined using a strict threshold, we determine the causal impact of this grant on student major with a regression discontinuity design. Using administrative data from public universities in Texas, we determine that income-eligible students were 3.2 percentage points more likely than their ineligible peers to major in targeted fields. We measure a larger impact of 10.2 percentage points at Brigham Young University.