TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Sonedda, Daniela
AU  - Matranga, Marcello
AU  - Vernasca, Gianluigi
AU  - Rossi, Mariacristina
AU  - Figari, Francesco
        TI  - Levelling up? The Role of Need and Merit Based University Grants in Non-Selective Higher Education
        PY  - 2026/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18547
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18547
        AB  - We study the interaction between need- and merit-based university grants in a non-selective higher education system. Using administrative data from a northern Italian university, we analyse how eligibility criteria affect enrolment, academic performance, and labour market outcomes. We document a trade-off between the two criteria, with merit requirements acting as endogenous screening. We rationalise this trade-off with a three-period model predicting that merit thresholds increase effort among students with higher expected ability but may discourage effort among students at risk of falling short, as losing the grant reduces expected utility. We support these predictions using a difference-in-differences estimator for multiple treatments, separately analysing students switching into and out of need- and merit-based eligibility. Our results show that grants target disadvantaged but academically strong students, generate perverse incentive effects that vary by gender, and fail to retain a substantial share of initial recipients.
        KW  - university grants
KW  - educational outcomes
KW  - non selective higher education
        ER  -