American Economic Review Vol. 99 No. 4 2009

The Effects of High Stakes High School Achievement Awards: Evidence from a Randomized Trial

Joshua Angrist¹; Victor Lavy²

¹ Department of Economics, Masssachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Building E52, Room 353, Cambridge, MA 02142-1347, and NBER. · ² Department of Economics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel, NBER, and Department of Economics, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Abstract

The Israeli matriculation certificate is a prerequisite for most postsecondary schooling. In a randomized trial, we attempted to increase certification rates among low-achievers with cash incentives. The experiment used a school-based randomization design offering awards to all who passed their exams in treated schools. This led to a substantial increase in certification rates for girls but had no effect on boys. Affected girls had a relatively high ex ante chance of certification. The increase in girls' matriculation rates translated into an increased likelihood of college attendance. Female matriculation rates increased partly because treated girls devoted extra time to exam preparation.

DOI

10.1257/aer.99.4.1384

Volume

99

Issue

4

Pages

1384-1414

Language

en

Sources

openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

Cite

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