Unintended Consequences of Rewards for Student Attendance: Results from a Field Experiment in Indian Classrooms / Sujata Visaria, Rajeev Dehejia, Melody M. Chao, Anirban Mukhopadhyay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Visaria, Sujata.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Dehejia, Rajeev.

Chao, Melody M.

Mukhopadhyay, Anirban.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w22528.

NBER working paper series no. w22528

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Unintended Consequences of Rewards for Student Attendance

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2016.

Summary:

In an experiment in non-formal schools in Indian slums, a reward scheme for attending a target number of school days increased average attendance when the scheme was in place, but had heterogeneous effects after it was removed. Among students with high baseline attendance, the incentive had no effect on attendance after it was discontinued, and test scores were unaffected. Among students with low baseline attendance, the incentive lowered post-incentive attendance, and test scores decreased. For these students, the incentive was also associated with lower interest in school material and lower optimism and confidence about their ability. This suggests incentives might have unintended long-term consequences for the very students they are designed to help the most.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2016.