Colleges in states where recreational marijuana became legal over the past decade saw a significant but short-term boost in applications from top-notch students. They also got more applications overall. Those were the key findings of a new study our team published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Contemporary Economic Policy.
In the year that a particular state legalized recreational marijuana, the number of applications for that state’s colleges grew by about 5.5% more than colleges in states that did not legalize. This means that colleges in legal-marijuana states received a temporary boost in applications. We didn’t detect any increase beyond the initial spike. Our results control for school quality, tuition prices and labor market conditions that may affect student application decisions.
At a more detailed level, the gains were strongest for the largest schools, which observed a nearly 54% increase in applications compared with similarly sized schools in nonlegal states. Public colleges and universities benefited more than private ones, though applications for private schools rose in states where recreational marijuana became legal as well.
In addition, schools got more applications from high-achieving students. Standardized test scores for the top 25% of applicants spiked along with the quantity of applications.
Why it matters
As researchers continue to assess the risks and rewards of recreational marijuana, our results show that institutions of higher learning benefit when their home states allow their citizens to get high. One benefit is that schools had a larger and higher-achieving applicant pool to choose from. This in turn creates the potential to improve a school’s academic profile.
Our results fit into a larger body of research analyzing what affects a student’s application choices. We found that, similar to how schools see a spike in applications and SAT scores when those schools have winning sports teams, schools see spikes when they are located in states that legalize marijuana. While our data cannot prove it explicitly, this suggests that students do factor local policies into their college choice, a key result of interest for scholars and policymakers alike.
How we do our work
We use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System – a federal database commonly referred to as IPEDS – which provides information on a variety of college metrics. These metrics include the number of applications, demographic characteristics of students and detailed tuition prices, both before and after financial aid is applied.
Along with this data, we analyzed state legislation to see when recreational marijuana would be available to students in a particular academic year. So long as the recreational marijuana was legally available prior to the end of January – when many applications are due – we argue that marijuana could plausibly affect a prospective student’s application decision for the following fall term.
Colleges in states where recreational marijuana became legal over the past decade saw a significant but short-term boost in applications from top-notch students. They also got more applications overall. Those were the key findings of a new study our team published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Contemporary Economic Policy.
In the year that a particular state legalized recreational marijuana, the number of applications for that state’s colleges grew by about 5.5% more than colleges in states that did not legalize. This means that colleges in legal-marijuana states received a temporary boost in applications. We didn’t detect any increase beyond the initial spike. Our results control for school quality, tuition prices and labor market conditions that may affect student application decisions.
At a more detailed level, the gains were strongest for the largest schools, which observed a nearly 54% increase in applications compared with similarly sized schools in nonlegal states. Public colleges and universities benefited more than private ones, though applications for private schools rose in states where recreational marijuana became legal as well.
In addition, schools got more applications from high-achieving students. Standardized test scores for the top 25% of applicants spiked along with the quantity of applications.
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