Discussion Paper No. 311
January 18, 2022
Income Contingency and the Electorate’s Support for Tuition
Authors:
Lergetporer, Philipp (TU Munich and ifo Institute)Woessmann, Ludger (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)
Abstract:
Keywords:
tuition; higher education finance; income-contingent loans; votingJEL-Classification:
H52; I22; D72Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 309
January 3, 2022
Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education
Authors:
Arold, Benjamin W. (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)Woessmann, Ludger (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)
Zierow, Larissa (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)
Abstract:
Keywords:
religious education; religiosity; school reformsJEL-Classification:
Z12; I28; H75Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 308
December 27, 2021
The Bargaining Trap
Authors:
Schweighofer-Kodritsch, Sebastian (HU Berlin)Abstract:
Keywords:
alternating offers; bargaining; time preferences; haggling costs; outside optionsJEL-Classification:
C78; D03; D74Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 307
December 22, 2021
Strategy-Proof and Envy-Free Random Assignment
Authors:
Basteck, Christian (WZB Berlin)Ehlers, Lars (Université de Montréal)
Abstract:
Keywords:
random assignment; strategy-proofness; envy-freeness; q-unanimityJEL-Classification:
D63; D70Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 303
November 29, 2021
Aiding Applicants: Leveling the Playing Field within the Immediate Acceptance Mechanism
Authors:
Basteck, Christian (WZB Berlin)Mantovani, Marco (University of Milan-Bicocca)
Abstract:
Keywords:
laboratory experiment; school choice; immediate acceptance; strategy-proofness; cognitive ability; mechanism designJEL-Classification:
C78; C91; D82; I24Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 294
November 15, 2021
Earnings Information and Public Preferences for University Tuition: Evidence from Representative Experiments
Authors:
Lergetporer, Philipp (TU Munich, ifo Institute and CESifo)Woessmann, Ludger (LMU Munich, ifo Institute and CESifo)
Abstract:
Keywords:
tuition; higher education; information; earnings premium; public opinion; votingJEL-Classification:
H52; I22; D72; D83Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 291
November 1, 2021
The Legacy of Covid-19 in Education
Authors:
Werner, Katharina (LMU Munich and CESifo)Woessmann, Ludger (LMU Munich and CESifo)
Abstract:
Keywords:
Covid-19; school closures, education, schools, students, educational inequalityJEL-Classification:
I20; H52; J24Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 280
February 26, 2021
Costly Information Acquisition in Centralized Matching Markets
Authors:
Hakimov, Rustamdjan (University of Lausanne and WZB Berlin)
Kübler, Dorothea (WZB Berlin and TU Berlin)
Pan, Siqi (University of Melbourne)
Abstract:
Every year during school and college admissions, students and their parents devote considerable time and effort to acquiring costly information about their own preferences. In a market where students are ranked by universities based on exam scores, we explore ways to reduce wasteful information acquisition - that is, to help students avoid acquiring information about their out-of-reach schools or universities - using a market design approach. We find that, both theoretically and experimentally, a sequential serial dictatorship mechanism leads to less wasteful information acquisition and higher student welfare than a direct serial dictatorship mechanism. This is because the sequential mechanism informs students about which universities are willing to admit them, thereby directing their search. Additionally, our experiments show that the sequential mechanism has behavioral advantages because subjects deviate from the optimal search strategy less frequently under the sequential than under the direct mechanism. We also investigate the effects of providing historical cutoff scores under the direct mechanism. We find that the cutoff provision can increase student welfare, especially when the information costs are high, although the effect is weaker than that of a sequential mechanism.
Keywords:
matching market; deferred acceptance; information acquisition; game theory; lab experiment
JEL-Classification:
C92; D47
Download:
Discussion Paper No. 277
February 26, 2021
Can Mentoring Alleviate Family Disadvantage in Adolescence? A Field Experiment to Improve Labor-Market Prospects
Authors:
Resnjanskij, Sven (ifo Institute)Ruhose, Jens (Kiel University)
Wiederhold, Simon (Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt)
Woessmann, Ludger (ifo Institute and LMU Munich)
Abstract:
We study a mentoring program that aims to improve the labor-market prospects of school-attending adolescents from disadvantaged families by offering them a university-student mentor. Our RCT investigates program effectiveness on three outcome dimensions that are highly predictive of adolescents´ later labor-market success: math grades, patience/social skills, and labor-market orientation. For low-SES adolescents, the one-to-one mentoring increases a combined index of the outcomes by half a standard deviation after one year, with significant increases in each dimension. Part of the treatment effect is mediated by establishing mentors as attachment figures who provide guidance for the future. The mentoring is not effective for higher-SES adolescents. The results show that substituting lacking family support by other adults can help disadvantaged children at adolescent age.
Keywords:
mentoring; disadvantaged youths; adolescence; school performance; patience; social skills; labor-market orientation; field experimentJEL-Classification:
I24; J24; H52Download:
Open PDF fileDiscussion Paper No. 273
January 21, 2021
Alcohol and Short-Run Mortality: Evidence from a Modern-Day Prohibition
Author:
Barron, Kai (WZB Berlin)
Bradshaw, Debbie (SAMRC & University of Cape Town)
Parry, Charles D. H. (SAMRC & Stellenbosch University)
Dorrington, Rob (University of Cape Town)
Groenewald, Pam (SAMRC)
Laubscher, Ria (SAMRC)
Matzopoulos, Richard (SAMRC & University of Cape Town)
Abstract:
On July 13, 2020 a complete nation-wide ban was placed on the sale and transport of alcohol in South Africa. This paper evaluates the impact of this sudden and unexpected five-week alcohol prohibition on mortality due to unnatural causes. We find that the policy reduced the number of unnatural deaths by 21 per day, or approximately 740 over the five-week period. This constitutes a 14% decrease in the total number of deaths due to unnatural causes. We argue that this represents a lower bound on the impact of alcohol on short-run mortality, and underscores the severe influence that alcohol has on society—even in the short-run.
Keywords:
alcohol; mortality; economics; health; South Africa; COVID-19; violence
JEL-Classification:
I18; I12; K42