大学应该免费吗？来自八年随机对照试验的关于免费大学、早期承诺和择优助学金的证据
Should College be “Free”? Evidence on Free College, Early Commitment, and Merit Aid from an Eight-Year Randomized Trial
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy · 2025 · [{"name": "Douglas N. Harris", "affiliation": ["Tulane University"]}, {"name": "Jonathan Mills", "affiliation": ["Coleridge Initiative"]}]
中文摘要
我们基于一项为期八年的随机试验，提供有关大学经济资助效应的证据；该试验向九年级学生提供 12,000 美元的择优（基于成绩）助学金。该项目的设计使就读社区学院免于学费/杂费，并大幅降低就读四年制大学的成本。在高中阶段，获得助学金的资格提高了学生对入读大学的预期以及低成本的大学升学准备投入，但未提高高成本的投入。该项目可能提高了两年制大学的毕业率，但未影响总体的大学入学、毕业、就业、监禁或青少年怀孕情况。进一步分析有助于解释这些温和的效应，以及既有研究之间结果的差异。（JEL I22, I23, I26, I28, J24）
Abstract
We provide evidence on the effects of college financial aid from an eight-year randomized trial offering ninth graders a $12,000 merit-based grant. The program was designed to be free of tuition/fees at community colleges and substantially lower the cost of four-year colleges. During high school, eligibility for the grant increased students’ expectations of college attendance and low-cost college preparation effort, but not higher-cost effort. The program may have increased graduation from two-year colleges but did not affect overall college entry, graduation, employment, incarceration, or teen pregnancy. Additional analysis helps explain these modest effects and variation in results across prior studies. (JEL I22, I23, I26, I28, J24)