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Who Values Access to College?

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Abstract
A quantitative model of college enrollment suggests that the value of college access varies greatly across individuals. Forty percent place no value on the option to attend despite large public subsidies, while 25 percent would enroll even without the subsidies. In the model, redirecting public funds from those who attend college irrespective of subsidies to those who don’t attend even with subsidies both preserves college enrollment and improves overall outcomes. While these two groups are clearly visible only in the model, and not in the data, this analysis suggests that more-targeted policies have potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Kartik B. Athreya & Felicia Ionescu & Urvi Neelakantan & Jessie Romero & Ivan Vidangos, 2020. "Who Values Access to College?," Richmond Fed Economic Brief, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, vol. 20(03), March.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedreb:92728
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    Cited by:

    1. Dirk Krueger & Alexander Ludwig & Irina Popova, 2024. "Shaping Inequality and Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty: Free College or Better Schools," PIER Working Paper Archive 24-023, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    2. Gustavo Mellior, 2020. "Higher education funding, welfare and inequality in equilibrium," Studies in Economics 2005, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    3. Boutros, Michael & Clara, Nuno & Gomes, Francisco, 2024. "Borrow now, pay even later: A quantitative analysis of student debt payment plans," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education and Labor Markets;

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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