Essays in Education Economics

Abstract

I empirically explore the potential post-secondary enrollment effects of Louisiana’s legislation requiring high school students to file a FAFSA application, or opt-out, prior to graduation. FAFSA submissions increased significantly in Louisiana following the policy change, suggesting there may have been some follow through into post-secondary institutions. I use a synthetic control approach to estimate causal impacts of Louisiana’s FAFSA policy on college enrollment and Pell Grant awards. I find suggestive evidence that students may have substituted away from public two-year institutions towards four-year institutions. Specifically, I find marginally significant effects on enrollment for Black students at large, public four-year universities.In evaluating the effect of nutrition and academic achievement, I exploit variation in the timing of schools’ participation in the USDA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program. Using a staggered difference-in-differences design, I estimate the effect of receiving FFVP grants on school-level academic achievement. Results suggest that FFVP participation reduces school-level average test scores, but I am unable to distinguish the effect from a null effect. I then explore the effects of a reading intervention aimed young, school-aged children and academic achievement. Specifically, using student-level data, I evaluate the effect of Michigan’s 2014 "Culture of Reading Program" on third grade standardized test scores. I consider the potential heterogeneity by how young students were when they received access to the program. I find significant, positive increases in achievement for students who received the program while enrolled in public Pre-K, but I find no such effects for students enrolled in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade.