Working Paper: NBER ID: w18551
Authors: Philip Oreopoulos; Ryan Dunn
Abstract: High school students from disadvantaged high schools in Toronto were invited to take two surveys, about three weeks apart. Half of the students taking the first survey were also shown a 3 minute video about the benefits of post secondary education (PSE) and invited to try out a financial-aid calculator. Most students' perceived returns to PSE were high, even among those not expecting to continue. Those exposed to the video, especially those initially unsure about their own educational attainment, reported significantly higher expected returns, lower concerns about costs, and expressed greater likelihood of PSE attainment.
Keywords: post-secondary education; information intervention; randomized field experiment; educational aspirations; financial aid
JEL Codes: I21; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Exposure to the video (C99) | Higher expected returns to PSE (G17) |
| Exposure to the video (C99) | Lower concerns about costs as a barrier to PSE (I24) |
| Exposure to the video (C99) | Increased aspirations for completing a college degree (I23) |