Working Paper: NBER ID: w16643
Authors: Joshua Angrist; Philip Oreopoulos; Tyler Williams
Abstract: We evaluate the effects of academic achievement awards for first and second-year college students on a Canadian commuter campus. The award scheme offered linear cash incentives for course grades above 70. Awards were paid every term. Program participants also had access to peer advising by upperclassmen. Program engagement appears to have been high but overall treatment effects were small. The intervention increased the number of courses graded above 70 and points earned above 70 for second-year students, but there was no significant effect on overall GPA. Results are somewhat stronger for a subsample that correctly described the program rules. We argue that these results fit in with an emerging picture of mostly modest effects for cash award programs of this type at the post-secondary level.
Keywords: college achievement awards; financial incentives; academic performance; randomized trial
JEL Codes: I21; I22; I28; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Opportunity Knocks (OK) program (J68) | increase in the number of courses graded above 70 for second-year students (A23) |
| Opportunity Knocks (OK) program (J68) | increase in points earned above 70 for second-year students (D29) |
| Opportunity Knocks (OK) program (J68) | increase in earnings for second-year men (J31) |
| Opportunity Knocks (OK) program (J68) | no significant increase in overall GPA (A00) |
| understanding program rules (C88) | enhancement of the effectiveness of the Opportunity Knocks (OK) program (O36) |
| effects on earnings and grades (I21) | no substantial long-term improvements in academic outcomes (I21) |