Can Student Loans Improve Accessibility to Higher Education and Student Performance? An Impact Study of the Case of SOFES, Mexico
Financial aid to students in tertiary education can contribute to human capital accumulation through two channels: increased enrollment and improved student performance. We analyze the quantitative importance of both channels in the context of a st...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/10/5278795/can-student-loans-improve-accessibility-higher-education-student-performance-impact-study-case-sofes-mexico http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14212 |
| Summary: | Financial aid to students in tertiary
education can contribute to human capital accumulation
through two channels: increased enrollment and improved
student performance. We analyze the quantitative importance
of both channels in the context of a student loan program
(SOFES) implemented at private universities in Mexico. With
regard to the first channel, enrollment, results from the
Mexican household survey indicate that financial support has
a strong positive effect on university enrollment. Given
completion of upper secondary education, the probability of
entering higher education rises 24 percent. Two data sources
are used to investigate the second channel, student
performance. Administrative data provided by SOFES are
analyzed using a regression-discontinuity design, and survey
data enable us to perform a similar analysis using a
different control group. Empirical results suggest that
SOFES recipients show better academic performance than
students without a credit from SOFES. However, the results
cannot be interpreted as a purely causal impact of the
student loan program, since the impacts also could reflect
(self-) selection of students. |
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