Work

Free food for thought: The effect of universal free school meals on graduation rates in the US

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper evaluates the impact of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) – which expanded free school meal access at low-income schools across the US – on high school graduation rates. Using education and demographic data, I compare within-school outcomes between 2011 and 2020. I find that CEP improved graduation rates by 1.506 percentage points ( p = 0.024 ) at schools where a lower percentage of students were originally eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Further analysis shows that a single year of exposure improved graduation rates by 1.373 percentage points ( p = 0.040 ) and exposure for over a year increased graduation rates by 1.787 percentage points ( p = 0.039 ).

Source: Economics Letters

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.112127

Author: Vivian Zhao

Institutions: Institute for Fiscal Studies, Yale University

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,980