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Contribution to Book
A Second Look at Enrollment Changes after the Kalamazoo Promise
Upjohn Institute Working Papers (2013)
  • Brad J. Hershbein, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Abstract

While previous research has documented how the Kalamazoo Promise, the most prominent and generous place-based college scholarship program, increased enrollment in Kalamazoo Public Schools, this paper qualifies and quantifies the characteristics of students who were induced to enter—or stay—in the district. In particular, it analyzes the origins and destinations, socioeconomic composition, and school-level sorting behavior associated with student flows around the time of the Promise announcement. These dimensions are more subtle than changes in the volume of students or measures of their individual success, but they are equally important to understand for communities exploring the feasibility of place-based scholarships as a local economic development tool. The findings suggest considerable economic benefits not just for the school district but for the broader metropolitan area.

Publication Date
January 1, 2013
Publisher
Upjohn Institute
Citation Information
Hershbein, Brad J. 2013. "A Second Look at Enrollment Changes after the Kalamazoo Promise." Upjohn Institute Working Paper 13-200. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.