American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Where Do Students Go When For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 12,
no. 2, May 2020
(pp. 46–83)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We examine the effects of federal sanctions imposed on for-profit institutions in the 1990s. Using county-level variation in the timing and magnitude of sanctions linked to student loan default rates, we estimate that sanctioned for-profits experience a 68 percent decrease in annual enrollment following sanction receipt. Enrollment losses due to for-profit sanctions are 60–70 percent offset by increased enrollment within local community colleges, where students are less likely to default on federal student loans. Conversely, for-profit sanctions decrease enrollment in local unsanctioned for-profit competitors, likely due to improved information about local options and reputational spillovers. Overall, market enrollment declines by 2 percent.Citation
Cellini, Stephanie R., Rajeev Darolia, and Lesley J. Turner. 2020. "Where Do Students Go When For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?" American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 12 (2): 46–83. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20180265Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H52 National Government Expenditures and Education
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I22 Educational Finance; Financial Aid
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- I28 Education: Government Policy
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