College Scholarships as a Tool for Economic Development? Evidence From the Kalamazoo Promise

On November 10, 2005, the Kalamazoo Public School District announced that a group of anonymous donors had funded a new college scholarship program for district graduates named the Kalamazoo Promise. The primary qualification for scholarship eligibility is continuous residency and enrollment in the Kalamazoo Public School District, and the scholarship is set up in perpetuity. This study assesses the extent to which the Kalamazoo Promise is serving as an economic development tool. Results indicate that the Kalamazoo Promise dramatically increased enrollment in the Kalamazoo Public School District, but there is no evidence that the Kalamazoo Promise increased home values in the district.