This dissertation studies the market for higher education and impacts of higher education policy on the market. In the first chapter, I estimate the short-run elasticity of supply of higher education using the rollout of state merit grant programs as plausibly exogenous variation in student demand for in-state higher education. I find that public…

Reverse credit transfer (RCT) is an emerging policy designed to award associate's degrees to students who transfer from 2-year to 4-year colleges after transfer. The purpose of this study is to estimate the impact of RCT degree receipt on students' university and labor outcomes using data from Texas, where the legislature passed RCT policy in…

While the Pell Grant covers a substantial proportion of college tuition for low-income students, it has covered only two full-time semesters per year and has not included any support for summer courses through most of its history. As research has shown that continuous enrollment throughout the year increases college persistence and completion, the…

In the nation today, 4.6 million young adults ages 16 to 24 are out of school and unemployed. More than one-third live in poverty. For these young people, commonly referred to as opportunity youth, building skills and gaining work experience are key to upward mobility. However, they face significant barriers to entering the labor market.…

Human capital production is central to economic wellbeing from a national perspective: it improves productivity, spurs technological innovation, and promotes sustainable economic growth over time. Equally important, investments in human capital are central to economic wellbeing at the individual level. College graduates tend to earn more money,…

Does extra financial aid for the summer lead to gains in completion and earnings? Despite being the largest source of financial aid to low-income college students, the traditional Pell Grant has had one major limitation: if students enroll in two semesters full-time, they will not have any tuition support for the summer term of the same academic…

This brief examines how California is aligning education and training opportunities for people who are currently or formerly incarcerated. It is the first report in our series "Reconnecting Justice in the States," which will explore coordinated justice, education, and workforce policy and practice at the state level. It is part of…

According to Sheldon Danziger and David Ratner, changes in the labor market over the past thirty-five years, such as labor-saving technological changes, increased globalization, declining unionization, and the failure of the minimum wage to keep up with inflation, have made it more difficult for young adults to attain the economic stability and…

In light of the growing labor market demand for jobs requiring a minimum of subbaccalaureate credentials, this Statistics in Brief presents recent changes in subbaccalaureate awards in the decade between 1997 and 2007, using 2002 as a midpoint. It describes changes in the number and types of awards conferred, overall and within particular fields…

The SREB Fact Book on Higher Education includes data on the population and economy, enrollment, degrees, student tuition and financial aid, faculty and administrators, revenue and expenditures. With more than 100 tables of detailed information, the Fact Book is one of the nation's most respected and most comprehensive collections of comparative…