Investing in Schooling in Chile: The Role of Information About Financial Aid for Higher Education

62 Pages Posted: 19 May 2011

See all articles by Taryn Dinkelman

Taryn Dinkelman

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics

Claudia Martínez A

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile - Institute of Economics

Date Written: May 2011

Abstract

Recent research demonstrates that imperfect information about returns to education distorts schooling investments. Questions remain about what information is missing in different settings and for whom such information is most critical. We conducted a field experiment to investigate whether Grade 8 children increase effort after learning about financial aid for post-secondary schooling; whether responses are larger for high or low ability students; or when parents as well as children learn about financial aid. We randomly assigned over 6,000 Chilean 8th graders in poor urban schools to information treatment or control groups, with half of the treatment group watching an information DVD at school (Student group) and the other half receiving this DVD to watch at home (Family group). Combining survey with administrative data, we find substantial improvements in financial aid knowledge in treated schools and a 14% reduction in absenteeism, but no effects on 8th Grade scores or 9th Grade enrolment. Students with higher baseline grades appear to drive most of the significant responses. Surprisingly, although Family group parents report significantly better knowledge of DVD content, using both experimental variation and non-experimental methods we show that watching at home has no larger impact on child effort than watching at school, at least for students likely to choose to watch the DVD. These results suggest that while educational inputs can improve after learning more about the higher education production function, particularly for higher ability students, such information is insufficient for improving educational outcomes, even when parents are involved.

Keywords: Chile, effort in school, financial aid, higher education

JEL Classification: D80, I20, O12

Suggested Citation

Dinkelman, Taryn and Martínez A, Claudia, Investing in Schooling in Chile: The Role of Information About Financial Aid for Higher Education (May 2011). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP8375, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1846257

Taryn Dinkelman (Contact Author)

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

Claudia Martínez A

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile - Institute of Economics ( email )

Casilla 76
Correo 17
Santiago
Chile

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
3
Abstract Views
696
PlumX Metrics