Working Paper: NBER ID: w19113
Authors: Roland G. Fryer Jr.
Abstract: This paper describes a field experiment in Oklahoma City Public Schools in which students were provided with free cellular phones and daily information about the link between human capital and future outcomes via text message. Students' reported beliefs about the relationship between education and outcomes were influenced by treatment, and treatment students also report being more focused and working harder in school. However, there were no measureable changes in attendance, behavioral incidents, or test scores. The patterns in the data appear most consistent with a model in which students cannot translate effort into measureable output, though other explanations are possible.
Keywords: education; human capital; information; student achievement; field experiment
JEL Codes: I20; J01
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Treatment students (I23) | Students' beliefs about the returns to education (I26) |
| Treatment students (I23) | Students' recognition of wage gap (J79) |
| Treatment students (I23) | Students' recognition of relationship between schooling and incarceration (I24) |
| Treatment students (I23) | Reported focus in school (I21) |
| Treatment students (I23) | Belief in peers working harder (C92) |
| Increased effort (D29) | Measurable academic outcomes (I21) |