Credit for low-income students and access to and academic performance in higher education in Colombia: a regression discontinuity approach

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of a national level subsidized loan program, ACCES, on a number of higher education outcomes (i.e., increase in enrollment rates, decrease in dropout rates, and increase in academic performance) of low-income students in Colombia. We use national level data along with a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impact of the program. The results confirm that the program was effective in terms of increasing the potential number of low-income students at the margin who would have enrolled in college, decreasing the number of students who dropped out, and increasing their academic outcomes.

Este estudio evalúa el impacto de ACCES, un programa de préstamos subsidiados a nivel nacional, sobre diferentes resultados de educación superior (tasas de matrícula, tasas de deserción escolar y rendimiento académico) de los estudiantes de bajos ingresos en Colombia. Utilizando datos a nivel nacional junto con un enfoque de regresión discontinua se estima el impacto del programa. Los resultados confirman que el programa fue efectivo: aumentando el número potencial de estudiantes de bajos ingresos que se hubieran inscrito en la universidad, disminuyendo el número de estudiantes que desertan y aumentando su rendimiento académico.