Degrees of Mobility: Shifting Low-Income Students to Higher Quality Colleges / Elizabeth Burland, Nora Delaney, Susan Dynarski, Katherine B. Leu, CJ Libassi, Katherine Michelmore, Stephanie Owen, Mary A. Quiroga, Elizabeth Salinas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burland, Elizabeth.

Contributor:

Delaney, Nora.

Dynarski, Susan.

Leu, Katherine B.

Libassi, CJ.

Michelmore, Katherine.

Owen, Stephanie.

Quiroga, Mary A.

Salinas, Elizabeth.

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w35434.

NBER working paper series no. w35434

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2026.

Summary:

Earnings inequality among college graduates has grown, and returns to a bachelor's degree (BA) vary substantially across colleges. We experimentally evaluate a program that shifted high-achieving, low-income students into higher-quality colleges. Students randomly offered a guarantee of four years of tuition and fees at the University of Michigan were 21 percentage points more likely to enroll at a UM campus. The offer shifted students across colleges rather than into college: most compliers would otherwise have attended less-selective four-year colleges. HAIL increased four-year BA completion by 4 percentage points, but had no effect on attainment after six years. It substantially increased degree quality: students offered the scholarship were 12 percentage points more likely to earn a bachelor's degree from a highly or most selective college. IV estimates indicate that students induced to attend a University of Michigan campus were 56 percentage points more likely to earn such a degree. The increase in college quality predicts earnings gains of 18 to 25 percent. Faster degree completion adds about another 1 percent to the present discounted value of lifetime earnings.

Notes:

July 2026.

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