Biased Beliefs and Search in Education Markets in the Dominican Republic

Last registered on July 19, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Biased Beliefs and Search in Education Markets in the Dominican Republic
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011772
Initial registration date
July 14, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 19, 2023, 2:33 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Patrick Agte
Affiliation
Princeton University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Claudia Allende
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
PI Name
Adam Kapor
PI Affiliation
Princeton University
PI Name
Christopher Neilson
PI Affiliation
Yale University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-07-10
End date
2024-08-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines the role of biased beliefs about the distribution of school characteristics and search costs in the school choice process. To disentangle these two mechanisms, we conduct a randomized control trial in the Dominican Republic in which we vary the nature of the information that is given to parents. In the first treatment arm, we attempt to change parents’ beliefs by providing information on the price and quality distribution of schools in their neighborhood. In the second treatment arm, we try to also reduce search costs by including information on the attributes of each individual school in addition to the distributions. The experimental results are used to inform a structural model of search and school choice.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Agte, Patrick et al. 2023. "Biased Beliefs and Search in Education Markets in the Dominican Republic." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11772-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-07-10
Intervention End Date
2023-07-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcomes of this study consist of search effort and the final awareness set. The standard search model predicts that parents search less if they underestimate the utility of schools that are not in their consideration set. Thus, we hypothesize that the fi rst treatment arm will increase search effort and result in a larger awareness set by correcting parents' beliefs. By contrast, parents in the second
correct treatment arm should put less effort in search than parents in the first treatment arm since they already obtain information on individual schools.

The measures of knowledge and school choice may include the following:
• Search effort.
- Number of schools explored through the school explorer tool (based on click data).
- Number of schools that the parent visited /called / visited the website.
- Number of friends consulted by the parents.
- Time invested in searching for schools.
• Final awareness set
- Number of schools that the parent knows at least by name.
- Number of schools that the parent knows well.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Our secondary outcomes consist of the parents' final educational choices, beliefs, and the perceived value of search. It is unclear how the treatment arms will affect final school enrollment since final enrollment also depends on the probability of getting accepted at a school. We hypothesize that both treatments should lead to a better school assignment at the end of the process but the changes might be too noisy to detect effects. We also hypothesize that parents in both treatment arms should have more correct beliefs and value search more than the control group.

The measures of knowledge and school choice may include the following:

Choice.
- School attributes of the school that the parent prefers the most if slots were available.
- School attributes of the school in which the child is finally enrolled.

Beliefs
- Differences between the perceived and actual joint distribution of quality and price of schools within 2km radius of the household.

Perceived value of search.
- Probability of finding better school given initial awareness set.
- Whether the parent recommends continuing searching given an initial awareness set.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The treatments will be implemented through pop-ups in a school explorer tool that will be sent to all sample parents.

- Parents in the control group receive general access to the school explorer tool.
- Parents in the first treatment arm receive the same tool as the control group plus information on the joint distributions of quality and price of schools within 2km radius of the household.
- Parents in the second treatment arm receive the same information as the first treatment group. In addition, schools that are affordable and high quality are highlighted in the school explorer tool.

The randomization into treatment groups occurs automatically when a respondent enters the school explorer tool. Outcome data will be obtained through administrative data, click data from the school explorer tool, and an endline survey.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Parents are automatically assigned to one of the three treatment arms when entering the school explorer tool.
Randomization Unit
Parents
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
NA
Sample size: planned number of observations
18,350 parents
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
6,117 parents per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Princeton University
IRB Approval Date
2023-05-12
IRB Approval Number
15485
Analysis Plan

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