The Department of Economics Brown Bag Research Workshop series provides an opportunity for faculty to present early-stage research projects to collect feedback from colleagues.

Presenter: Lois Miller, Department of Economics, UW Madison

Meeting Link: https://utsa.zoom.us/j/96878677334

Title: Switching Schools: Effects of College Transfers

Abstract: Over one-third of college students in the United States transfer between institutions, yet little is known about how transferring affects students’ educational and labor market outcomes. Using administrative data from Texas and a regression discontinuity design, I study the effects of a student’s transferring to a four-year college from either a two-year or four-year college. To do so, I leverage applications and admissions data to uncover the unpublished GPA cutoffs for transfer student admissions at each institution and then use these cutoffs as an instrument for transfer. In contrast to past work focused on first-time-in-college students, I find negative earnings returns for academically marginal students who transfer from two-year colleges to four-year colleges or from less-resourced four-year colleges to flagship colleges. The mechanisms include transfer students’ substitution out of high-paying majors into lower-paying majors, reduced employment and labor market experience, and potential loss of support networks.

Contact hayri.arslan@utsa.edu to RSVP for the Economics Brown Bag Research Workshop series.