Was That SMART?: Institutional Financial Incentives and Field of Study

Jeffrey Denning and Patrick Turley

Journal of Human Resources, 2017, vol. 52, issue 1, 152-186

Abstract: We examine whether students respond to immediate financial incentives when choosing their college major. From 2006–2007 to 2010–2011, low-income students in technical or foreign language majors could receive up to $8,000 in SMART Grants. Since income-eligibility was determined using a strict threshold, we determine the causal impact of this grant on student major with a regression discontinuity design. Using administrative data from public universities in Texas, we determine that income-eligible students were 3.2 percentage points more likely than their ineligible peers to major in targeted fields. We measure a larger impact of 10.2 percentage points at Brigham Young University.

Date: 2017
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.52.1.0414-6340R1
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:52:y:2017:i:1:p:152-186

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