Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: The Impact of the Post-9/11 GI Bill on educational decisions and outcomes

本研究探讨了后9/11 GI法案的影响，并利用几个功能的利益扩张，研究三个问题的劳动经济学，公共经济学和产业组织领域的普遍利益。首先，经济援助对年龄较大的学生有什么影响？第二，实物财政援助是否会导致个人选择进入更昂贵（可能更高质量）的机构;如果是这样，这种转变是否会导致教育成就的提高？最后，有针对性的联邦财政援助的经济影响是什么（即，大学是否调整机构援助以抵消补贴？该研究涉及创建一个独特的数据小组，该小组涉及国防部所有最近的现役人员，并与弗吉尼亚州和国家学生信息交换所（NSC）的详细中学后数据相关联。这将是第一个关于军事选择和军事后教育决定和结果的详细逐年信息的数据集。研究人员将使用差异中的差异、三重差异和回归不连续的实证方法来回答这些问题。拟议的研究旨在为有关财政援助对个人和机构的影响、实物与有条件的现金转移支付对教育的影响以及高等教育入学率有针对性补贴的经济影响的学术文献做出贡献。 虽然有关经济援助对传统学生的入学影响的文献相当发达，但对非传统学生的影响以及经济援助和学校匹配对成绩的影响是一个悬而未决的问题。这将是第一个研究联邦财政援助，同时使用随着时间的推移和跨州的变化程度的好处expansion.In退伍军人的具体利益，分析将有助于更好地了解如何调整现有的和未来的财政援助计划，以更好地实现其目标。 了解后9/11 GI法案在潜在帮助数十万退伍军人中发挥的作用，其中绝大多数是第一代学生，去并留在大学里，对于评估这一GI法案将留下的标志至关重要在最初的GI法案之后60年，该法案在不到十年的时间里使大学入学率几乎翻了一番，并被认为是现代中产阶级产生的推动力。帮助个人成功地重新进入平民生活或投资于额外的技能，以推进其军事生涯具有重大的国家安全影响。尽管这一专题具有明确的重要性，但基本上没有任何资料。这个项目在填补差距方面迈出了重要的一步。

This study explores the effects of the Post-9/11 GI Bill and leverages several features of the benefit expansion to examine three questions of general interest in the areas of labor economics, public economics, and industrial organization. First, what is the effect of financial aid on older students? Second, does in-kind financial aid result in individuals choosing to enroll in more expensive (plausibly higher quality) institutions; and, if so, does this shift result in increased educational attainment? And, finally, what is the economic incidence of targeted federal financial aid (i.e., do colleges adjust institutional aid to offset the subsidy)? The study involves the creation of a unique panel of data on all recent active duty individuals from the Department of Defense linked with detailed post-secondary data from the state of Virginia and the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). This will be the first dataset of its kind in terms of the detailed year by year information on military choices and post-military educational decisions and outcomes. The researchers will use difference-in-differences, triple difference, and regression discontinuity empirical approaches to answer these questions.The proposed research aims to contribute to the academic literature on the effects of financial aid on individuals and institutions, the effect of in-kind versus conditional cash transfers for education, and the economic incidence of targeted subsidies to enrollment in higher education. While the literature on the enrollment effects of financial aid on traditional students is quite developed, the effects on non-traditional students and the effects of financial aid and school match on attainment are open questions. This will be the first study of federal financial aid that uses both over time and across state variation in the degree of benefit expansion.In addition to specific interest in military veterans, the analyses will contribute to a better understanding of how to tailor existing and future financial aid programs to better achieve their goals. Understanding the role that the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits play in potentially helping hundreds of thousands of veterans, the vast majority of whom are first-generation students, go to and stay in college is critical in evaluating the mark this GI Bill will leave sixty years after the original GI Bill that contributed to a near doubling of college enrollment in less than a decade, and is credited as a driving force behind the creation of the modern middle class. Helping individuals to reenter civilian life successfully or invest in additional skills to advance their military careers has large national security implications. Despite the clear import of this topic there is essentially no information available. This project makes an important step in filling the gap.