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Parent-Child Information Frictions and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Leopold S. Bergman
Abstract
This paper uses a field experiment to answer how information frictions between parents and their children affect investments in education and how much reducing these frictions can improve student achievement. In Los Angeles, a random sample of parents was provided de-tailed information about their child’s academic progress. I frame the results in the context of a persuasion game between parents and their children. Parents have upwardly-biased beliefs about their child’s effort and the information treatment reduces this bias while increasing parental monitoring. More information allows parents to induce more effort from their children, which translates into significant gains in achievement. Relative to other interventions, additional information to parents potentially produces gains in achievement at a low cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Leopold S. Bergman, 2015. "Parent-Child Information Frictions and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Field Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 5391, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5391
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    information frictions; experiment; parents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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