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Botong_thesis_revised.pdf (1.22 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
The Role of Information in College Saving Decisions: A Principal-Agent Approach
Author Info
Shang, Botong
ORCID® Identifier
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7806-9073
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429886560
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2015, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Human Ecology.
Abstract
In this study, I investigate whether and how much parents save for their children’s college when they have more information about the costs and benefits of college. I combine data from Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2004 – 2012, Simmons National Consumer Survey, and a self-collected dataset of magazine articles. Using principal-agent model, the paper first lays out the theoretical framework and predicts that parents with different amount of information about the costs of college or about the available scholarship will have different saving behaviors. Further, these saving behaviors will also vary with the demographic characteristics of households holding the same amount of information. Results show that there is indeed heterogeneity among different groups of parents. The marginal effect of information affects the amount of and share of resource allocate to the annual principal payments for their home mortgage. Specifically, there is a sharp contrast between families with lower income and families in the highest income group in the sample. Parents with some college education or college degree are more sensitive to information about the costs of college, while parents with no college education at all are more sensitive to information about available scholarships. Comparing parents with different race/ethnicity, information about the available scholarships have the largest marginal effect on Hispanic parents, then on the non-Hispanic, non-Black parents, and least on black parents with children younger than 16. With the only consideration of the number of children are about to go to college, there are not many significant marginal effects of information among parents with more children who are 16 or 17 years old. However, information shows consistent marginal effects on the non-Black, non-Hispanic parents who have at least one child is ready to go to college.
Committee
Dean Lillard (Committee Chair)
Sherman Hanna (Committee Member)
Andrew Hanks (Committee Member)
Pages
95 p.
Subject Headings
Economics
;
Education
;
Families and Family Life
;
Home Economics
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Refworks
EndNote
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Citations
Shang, B. (2015).
The Role of Information in College Saving Decisions: A Principal-Agent Approach
[Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429886560
APA Style (7th edition)
Shang, Botong.
The Role of Information in College Saving Decisions: A Principal-Agent Approach.
2015. Ohio State University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429886560.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Shang, Botong. "The Role of Information in College Saving Decisions: A Principal-Agent Approach." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429886560
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
osu1429886560
Download Count:
504
Copyright Info
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.