Working Paper: NBER ID: w21135
Authors: Dylan Conger; Lesley J. Turner
Abstract: We examine the impact of a temporary price shock on the attainment of undocumented college students enrolled in a large urban college system. In spring 2002, the City University of New York reversed its policy of charging in-state tuition to undocumented students. By fall 2002, the state legislature restored in-state rates. Using a differences-in-differences identification strategy, we estimate impacts on reenrollment, credits, grades, and degree completion. The price shock led to an immediate 8 percent decrease in senior college students' enrollment. Senior college students who entered college the semester prior to the price shock experienced lasting reductions in attainment, including a 22 percent decrease in degree receipt. Conversely, among senior college students who been enrolled for at least a year, the price shock only affected the timing of exit.
Keywords: tuition increases; undocumented students; college attainment; differences-in-differences
JEL Codes: H75; I21; J15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| tuition price shock (A19) | reenrollment (I23) |
| tuition price shock (A19) | degree receipt (Y40) |
| tuition price shock (A19) | credits earned (G12) |
| tuition price shock (A19) | timing of exit (C41) |
| tuition price shock (A19) | reenrollment of undocumented community college students (I23) |