Optimal Subsidies for Increasing Two-Year and Four-Year College Graduation Rates

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dc.contributor.advisorCunha, Flavio
dc.contributor.advisorWolpin, Kenneth I.
dc.creatorGul, Mehreen
dc.date.accessioned2020-04-27T21:14:13Z
dc.date.available2020-04-27T21:14:13Z
dc.date.created2020-05
dc.date.issued2020-04-24
dc.date.submittedMay 2020
dc.date.updated2020-04-27T21:14:13Z
dc.description.abstractIn 2015, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) undertook an ambitious 60 30 TX plan as a part of its implementation of House Bill 22, introduced by the 85th Texas House of Representatives to enhance public school accountability. The 60 x30TX is a higher education plan that focuses on attaining a postsecondary graduation rate of 60% amongst the 25-34 age demographic in Texas by the year 2030. In this paper, I estimate the cost per high school graduate of attaining this target. I also compare the per student cost of this policy objective with that of two other counterfactual policies; the fi rst being one in which community colleges are made tuition-free for all high school graduates and the second being one in which public four-year college tuition is subsidized annually by $2,000 only for those who have completed an AA tuition free under the former policy. I find that a policy in which community colleges are made tuition free will increase the postsecondary graduation rate by age 29 to 26.6%, relative to a baseline of 22.6%, and will cost $2,114 per student. I find that a $2,000 public four-year college subsidy for those who have fi rst completed an AA tuition free will boost the postsecondary graduation rate to 29.4% and increase the per student cost to $10,594. Finally, I fi nd that a conditional cash transfer of $5,320 and $3,640 for two-year and four-year college enrollment, respectively, attains the targeted postsecondary graduation rate of 60% by age 29 and costs $16,569 per student with an estimated total cost of $2.3 billion. This is far in excess of the THECB's FY2018 operating budget of $807million.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationGul, Mehreen. "Optimal Subsidies for Increasing Two-Year and Four-Year College Graduation Rates." (2020) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108433">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108433</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/108433
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjecteconomics of higher education
dc.subjectcommunity colleges
dc.subjecttuition subsidies
dc.subjectfree community college
dc.subjectdiscrete choice dynamic programming.
dc.titleOptimal Subsidies for Increasing Two-Year and Four-Year College Graduation Rates
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentEconomics
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
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