Higher Education.

• Position: Meeting of National Bureau of Economic Research's Working Group on Higher Education

The NBER's Working Group on Higher Education met in Cambridge on November 10. Charles T. Clotfelter, NBER and Duke University, organized the meeting at which the following papers were discussed:

Kelly Dugan, Charles Mullin, and John Siegfried, Vanderbilt University, "Undergraduate Financial Aid and Subsequent Alumni Giving Behavior"

Discussant: Bruce I. Sacerdote, NBER and Dartmouth College

Christopher Cornwell, David B. Mustard, and Deepa Sridhar, University of Georgia, "The Enrollment Effects of Merit Aid: Evidence from Georgia's HOPE Scholarship Program"

Discussant: Caroline M. Hoxby, NBER and Harvard University

Jerry G. Thursby, Purdue University, and Marie C. Thursby, NBER and Purdue University, "Who's Selling the Ivory Tower? Sources of Growth in University Licensing" (NBER Working Paper No. 7718)

Discussant: Paula E. Stephan, Georgia State University

Amy E. Schwartz, New York University, and Benjamin P. Scafidi, Georgia State University, "What's Happened to the Price of College? Quality Adjusted Price Indexes for Four-Year Colleges"

Discussant: A. Abigail Payne, University of Illinois

Todd R. Stinebrickner and Ralph Stinebrickner, University of Western Ontario, "The Importance of Nontuition Factors in Determining the Family Income-Schooling Relationship: Evidence from a Liberal Arts College With a Full Tutition Subsidy Program"

Discussant: Susan M. Dynarski, NBER and Harvard University

Michelle McLennan, Ursinus College, and Susan L. Averett, Lafayette College, "Black and White Women: Differences in College Attendance, Does the Rate of Return Matter?"

Discussant: Bridget T. Long, Harvard University

Dugan, Mullin, and Siegfried use data on 2,822 Vanderbilt University graduates to investigate alumni giving behavior during the eight years after graduation. They first estimate the likelihood of making a contribution and then the average gift size, conditional on contributing. They find that the type of financial aid received as an undergraduate has a greater influence on subsequent alumni generosity than the amount received. Adding some scholarship to a loan-only package, or eliminating all loans from a mixed loan-grant package, increases the likelihood of a subsequent contribution. Increasing the total size of the package, or altering the proportions of an already mixed package, appears to be inconsequential for future donations. The authors also find that students who receive small merit scholarships contribute more as alumni than...