The Effect of Classroom Rank on Learning throughout Elementary School: Experimental Evidence from Ecuador

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

We study the impact on learning of a child's rank in the classroom using a unique experiment from Ecuador. Within each school, students were randomly assigned to classrooms in every grade between kindergarten and 6th grade. Therefore, two students with the same ability can have different classroom ranks because of the (random) peer composition of their classroom. To isolate the impact of rank from other peer influences we include classroom fixed effects.

Humans versus Chatbots: Scaling-up behavioral interventions to reduce teacher shortages

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

Empirical results in economics often stem from success in controlled experimental settings, but often fail when scaled up. This study presents a behavioral intervention and a scalable equivalent aimed at reducing teacher shortages by motivating high school students to pursue an education degree. The intervention was delivered through WhatsApp chats by trained human promoters (humans arm) and rule-based Chatbots programmed to closely replicate the humans program (bots arm).

Who Benefits from Tuition-Free, Top-Quality Universities?: Evidence from Brazil

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper investigates the long-term impact on earnings of attending a tuition-free, top-quality university in Brazil. We identify the causal effect through a sharp discontinuity in an admission process based on test scores. If admitted, low-income students are found to increase their earnings by 26% ten years later. However, admission has a small and insignificant effect on high-income students. The difference between income groups is not explained by educational attainment, program choice, or selection into better-paying jobs.

When Measure Matters: Coresidence Bias and Integenerational Mobility Revisited

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

We provide novel evidence of the impact of coresidence bias on a large set of indicators of intergenerational mobility in education. We begin re-examining a recent claim that the correlation coecient is less biased than the regression coecient. Then, we expand our analysis to show that there are indicators with varying average levels of coresidence bias going from less than 1% to more than 10%. However, some indicators with minimal bias produce high levels of re-ranking that make them uninformative to rank populations by the level of mobility.

Access to Language Training and the Local Integration of Refugees

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper examines whether language classes raises refugees' language proficiency and improves their socio-economic integration. Our identification strategy leverages the opening, closing, and gradual expansion of local language training centers in Denmark, as well as the quasi-random assignment of the refugees to locations with varying proximity to a language training center. First, we show that refugees' distance from the assigned language training center is as good as random conditional on initial placement.

Report Cards: Parental Preferences, Information and School Choice in Haiti

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper studies school choice and information in the context of education markets in rural Haiti. Using a market level randomized control trial, we evaluate the aggregate effect of providing test score information on subsequent test scores, prices, and enrollment. After the intervention, we find that private schools have higher test scores, with an average increase of 0.3 standard deviations in treated markets. However, we are unable to detect significant changes to prices and market shares.

What Job Would You Apply to?: Findings on the Impact of Language on Job Searches

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This study tests four "light touch" interventions in the language used in job posts of male- dominated occupations to attract female workers using a discrete choice experiment. This experiment had more than 5000 participants from five Latin American countries. We test two possible mechanisms: the gender-stereotypes related to job skills and the use of inclusive language. We find that language matters, and men and women value information and inclusive language in job advertisements. However, women are more sensitive in this regard.

Can Information on School Attributes and Placement Probabilities Direct Search and Choice? Evidence from Choice Platforms in Ecuador and Peru

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper evaluates how new information influences families applica- tions and assignment outcomes in elementary school choice settings. Specifi- cally, using a multi-country RCT based in Tacna, Peru and Manta, Ecuador, we examine the effect of providing personalized information on schooling alternatives and placement risk. We find that applicants who received feed- back on placement risk and a suggestion of new schools add more schools to their applications and were more likely to include recommended schools than other alternatives available.

The Potential of Smart Matching Platforms in Teacher Assignment: The Case of Ecuador

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

This paper studies the potential of personalized "smart" information interventions to improve teacher assignment results in the context of a centralized choice and assignment system (CCAS) in Ecuador. Specifically, we focus on the impact that a personalized non-assignment risk warning, coupled with a list of "achievable" teaching position recommendations, had on teacher applications in the “I Want to Become a Teacher” selection process.

Remote Parent Coaching in Preschool Mathematics: Evidence from Peru

Submitted by SPH DIGITAL on

We evaluated the effects of a 10-week intervention that randomly provided access to remote training to parents of preschool children during summer vacations in Peru. In response to learning losses during COVID-19-induced school closures, educational coaches offered guidance and support to parents in activities designed to accelerate the development of foundational math skills. We found that the intervention improved cognitive scores in mathematics by 0.12 standard deviations.