Can Scholarships Increase High School Graduation Rates? Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial in Mexico
This paper studies the impact of PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary school students from poor backgrounds. The identification strategy is the random allocation into the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/976601555936652424/Can-Scholarships-Increase-High-School-Graduation-Rates-Evidence-from-A-Randomized-Control-Trial-in-Mexico http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31581 |
| Summary: | This paper studies the impact of
PROBEMS, a scholarship program in Mexico aimed at improving
graduation rates and test scores among upper secondary
school students from poor backgrounds. The identification
strategy is the random allocation into the program, which
took place in 2009. The strategy allows measurement of the
effects of PROBEMS on test scores and graduation rates three
years later in 2012. The paper finds that, on average, the
program has no discernible impact on graduation rates or
math or Spanish test scores. The size of the sample allows
investigation of the reasons for this disappointing result.
The paper finds that the program is substantially
mis-targeted, with the majority of the recipients not coming
from the most disadvantaged families. However, the most
plausible explanation for the absence of positive impacts is
that many eligible students do not seem to have the minimum
learning level to face successfully the academic
requirements of upper secondary school. An important policy
implication is that a well-targeted scholarship program
should be complemented with a remedial education intervention. |
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