Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/185085 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11625
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial aimed at testing the effectiveness of an innovative intervention of asset building (Percorsi) on high school students' transition to the university. Contrary to most traditional forms of financial aid, the tested intervention is expected to enhance an active involvement of the families and imposes a strong conditionality in the use of the benefits. The experiment, called ACHAB (Affording College with the Help of Asset Building) has been carried out in the province of Torino (Northwest Italy) between 2014 and 2017. For the evaluation purpose, an ad hoc survey has been carried out to collect longitudinal information on enrolment decisions and academic performances (number of exams and persistence) during the first semester and at the beginning of the second year. External data and applicant baseline information were used to perform a multidimensional targeting strategy aimed at identifying the 'target population', i.e. those students who were at risk of giving up their university enrolment decisions because of economic reasons. The experimental results point to the existence of positive and significant effects of the program on university enrolment and sizeable and significant positive effects on academic performance and university persistence. The effects of the program are significantly larger for students coming from vocational schools than for students who completed technical or general secondary schools.
Subjects: 
higher education
social inequality
financial aid
asset building
randomized controlled trial
JEL: 
C90
D04
I22
I24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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