American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Can Social Information Affect What Job You Choose and Keep?
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 9,
no. 1, January 2017
(pp. 96–117)
Abstract
We show that the provision of social information influences a high-stakes decision and this influence persists over time. In a field experiment involving thousands of admits to Teach For America, those told about the previous year's matriculation rate are more likely to accept a teaching job, complete training, start, and return a second year. To show robustness, we develop a simple theory that identifies subgroups where we expect larger treatment effects and find our effect is larger in those subgroups. That social information can have a powerful, persistent effect on high-stakes behavior broadens its relevance for policy and theory.Citation
Coffman, Lucas C., Clayton R. Featherstone, and Judd B. Kessler. 2017. "Can Social Information Affect What Job You Choose and Keep?" American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9 (1): 96–117. DOI: 10.1257/app.20140468Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- I21 Analysis of Education
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets
- L31 Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
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