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American Economic Review Vol. 98 No. 5 2008

The Effect of Credit Constraints on the College Drop-Out Decision: A Direct Approach Using a New Panel Study

Ralph Stinebrickner1; Todd Stinebrickner2

1 CPO 1971, Berea College, Berea, KY 40404. · 2 Department of Economics, Social Science Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2.

Abstract

A serious difficulty in determining the importance of credit constraints in education arises because standard data sources do not provide a direct way of identifying which students are credit constrained. This paper differentiates itself from previous work by taking a direct approach, made possible by unique longitudinal data from the Berea Panel Study. The results from our study of Berea College students suggest that, while credit constraints likely play an important role in the drop-out decisions of some students, the large majority of attrition of students from low-income families should be primarily attributed to reasons other than credit constraints.

DOI
10.1257/aer.98.5.2163
Volume
98
Issue
5
Pages
2163-2184
Language
en
Sources
openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

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