Description:

Dr. Carycruz Bueno will present for the Human Development and Social Policy Brown Bag on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Dr. Bueno is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Wesleyan University and a visiting scholar in the Northwestern Collaborative for Applied Research in Education (formerly known as E4). 

Talk title: How do place-based scholarship affect student outcomes? Lessons from Atlanta

Abstract: Previous research shows that Achieve Atlanta’s place-based scholarship and associated services meaningfully improve college persistence and completion. In this follow up study that uses similar methods but additional and more detailed data, we examine whether scholarship recipients exhibit different student loan portfolios, course-taking patterns, or academic performance. Using regression analyses, we find that students in their first semester of college who receive the scholarship and associated services are less likely to take out loans, borrow lower amounts, earn more credit hours, and attain higher GPAs. Additionally, we find no evidence that the place-based scholarship crowds out institutional aid. These effects are important in their own right but also shed light on the mechanisms driving earlier findings on college success.

Biography: Carycruz Bueno is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Wesleyan University. She is an applied microeconomist who studies how education policy can eradicate education inequality. Her research addresses topics such as virtual schools, school choice, teacher labor markets, and student non-cognitive skills. Her research interest stems from her experience as a special education teacher. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, ASHE, and National Economics Association. In 2021, she was named an Emerging Education Policy Scholar by Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Prior to joining Wesleyan University, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Brown University. Dr. Bueno has been featured in The Atlantic, NPR’s Planet Money, Bloomberg, and Politico Nightly.

To join via Zoom, please contact Tammy (tammy.wen@northwestern.edu).