Examining the Impact of a Highly Targeted State Administered Merit Aid Program on Brain Drain: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Missouri’s Bright Flight Program

James R. Harrington (), José Muñoz (), Bradley R. Curs () and Mark Ehlert ()
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James R. Harrington: The University of Texas at Dallas
José Muñoz: University of Missouri
Bradley R. Curs: University of Missouri

Research in Higher Education, 2016, vol. 57, issue 4, No 2, 423-447

Abstract: Abstract The adoption of state-funded merit-based aid programs has become increasingly popular among policy-makers, particularly in the southeastern part of the United States. One of the primary rationales of state-funded merit-based aid is to provide scholarships to the best and brightest students as a means to retain high quality human capital in the state’s labor market. Previous literature largely examines the link between state-funded merit-based aid and instate college enrollment, but it has not extensively examined the link between state-administered merit aid and subsequent instate labor market participation. In this study, we use statewide administrative datasets to estimate the effects of Missouri’s Bright Flight Scholarship program, a highly targeted state administered merit aid program, on future instate employment. Using a regression discontinuity approach on the intent to treat, we find that having the opportunity to participate in the Bright Flight Scholarship program has a positive impact on the likelihood of working in the state 8 years after high school graduation. Overall, this study provides evidence that highly targeted state-funded merit-based financial aid programs may have a positive impact on reducing state brain drain.

Keywords: Brain drain; State merit aid; Regression discontinuity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1007/s11162-015-9392-9

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