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Unintended consequences of rewards for student attendance: Results from a field experiment in Indian classrooms
ARTICLE

, Department of Economics, Lee Shau Kee Business Building, Hong Kong ; , Wagner School of Public Policy, United States ; , Department of Management, Lee Shau Kee Business Building, Room 5072, Hong Kong ; , Department of Marketing, Lee Shau Kee Business Building, Room 4002, Hong Kong

Economics of Education Review Volume 54, Number 1, ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

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.

Citation

Visaria, S., Dehejia, R., Chao, M.M. & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2016). Unintended consequences of rewards for student attendance: Results from a field experiment in Indian classrooms. Economics of Education Review, 54(1), 173-184. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved March 21, 2023 from .

This record was imported from Economics of Education Review on March 1, 2019. Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.

Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.08.001

Keywords

References

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