Targeting Social Assistance: The Evolution of College Financial Aid in Colombia

Juliana Londoño- Vélez, Catherine Rodríguez, Fabio Sánchez and Luis Esteban Álvarez- Arango

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2025, vol. 115, 340-44

Abstract: College financial aid programs often target individuals based on a combination of academic merit and socioeconomic status. The design of these programs can also be influenced by social preferences and political factors. This paper analyzes the evolution of Colombia's flagship program, Ser Pilo Paga, later renamed Generacion E-Excelencia. It examines how the national government initially designed the program based on social objectives and budget constraints and subsequently modified it in response to student behavior, political pressures, and shifting priorities. Finally, the paper briefly discusses how these design changes might affect the program's impact on equity and efficiency.

JEL-codes: D72 H23 H52 I22 I23 I28 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pandp.20251062 (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/materials/23139 (application/pdf)
https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/materials/23140 (application/zip)
Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:apandp:v:115:y:2025:p:340-44

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/subscribe.html

DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20251062

Access Statistics for this article

AEA Papers and Proceedings is currently edited by William Johnson and Kelly Markel

More articles in AEA Papers and Proceedings from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().