Free college proposals have become increasingly popular in many countries. To evaluate their potential effects, this paper develops and estimates a dynamic model of college enrollment, performance, and graduation. A central piece of the model, student effort has a direct effect on class...

"Many educators and policymakers have argued for lenient grade promotion policy - even automatic promotion - in developing country settings where grade retention rates are high. The argument assumes that grade retention discourages persistence or continuation in school and that the promotion of...