Who Benefits Most? Examining the Heterogeneous Impact of a Need-Based Grant Program in Jamaica

Nicholas Wright (nicwrigh@fiu.edu) and Akeem Carter (acart105@fiu.edu)
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Akeem Carter: Department of Economics, Florida International University

No 2412, Working Papers from Florida International University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper examines the heterogeneous impact of need-based grant funding on students' academic performance at a leading university in the Caribbean. In particular, using administrative student-level data, we examine the marginal effect of awarding a $500 US grant each year to needy student loan borrowers, estimating the grant effect across students' gender, past performance, high school rank, starting age, commuting status, field of study, living condition, consumption level, and per-capita income. Employing a novel IV-DID design, the study instruments for grant receipt by leveraging a policy reform that expanded access to college financing for students on welfare. We find robust evidence that the need-based grant significantly improved college students' outcomes, with the greatest benefits observed among on-campus residents, recent high-school graduates, males, younger students, higher achievers, and those with greater financial need.

Keywords: Need-Based Grant; Academic performance; GPA; Graduation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D04 H52 I22 I23 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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