Excellence for all? University honors programs and human capital formation

Todd Pugatch and Paul Thompson

No 1112, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: Can public university honors programs deliver the benefits of selective undergraduate edu- cation within otherwise nonselective institutions? We evaluate the impact of admission to the Honors College at Oregon State University, a large nonselective public university. Admission to the Honors College depends heavily on a numerical application score. Nonlinearities in admis- sions probabilities as a function of this score allow us to compare applicants with similar scores, but different admissions outcomes, via a fuzzy regression kink design. The first stage is strong, with takeup of Honors College programming closely following nonlinearities in admissions prob- abilities. To estimate the causal effect of Honors College admission on human capital formation, we use these nonlinearities in the admissions function as instruments, combined with course- section fixed effects to account for strategic course selection. Honors College admission increases course grades by 0.10 grade points on the 0-4 scale, or 0.14 standard deviations. Effects are concentrated at the top of the course grade distribution. Previous exposure to Honors sections of courses in the same subject is a leading potential channel for increased grades. However, course grades of first-generation students decrease in response to Honors admission, driven by low performance in natural science courses. Results suggest that selective Honors programs can accelerate skill acquisition for high-achieving students at public universities, but not all students benefit from Honors admission.

Keywords: economics of education; higher education; university honors programs; regression kink design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 I26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu
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Working Paper: Excellence for All? University Honors Programs and Human Capital Formation (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1112

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