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An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market

Last registered on May 03, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000262
Initial registration date
March 30, 2014

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
March 30, 2014, 10:02 PM EDT

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

Last updated
May 03, 2017, 8:48 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Harvard University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Harvard University
PI Affiliation
Harvard University
PI Affiliation
University of California-Berkeley

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2014-04-01
End date
2014-08-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We study employers’ perceptions of the value of postsecondary degrees using a field experiment. We randomly assign the sector and selectivity of institutions to fictitious resumes and apply to real vacancy postings for business and health jobs on a large online job board. We find that a business bachelor’s degree from a for-profit “online” institution is 22 percent less likely to receive a callback than one from a non-selective public institution. In applications to health jobs, we find that for-profit credentials receive fewer callbacks unless the job requires an external quality indicator such as an occupational license.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Deming, David et al. 2017. "An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market." AEA RCT Registry. May 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.262-2.0
Former Citation
Deming, David et al. 2017. "An Experimental Study of the Value of Postsecondary Credentials in the Labor Market." AEA RCT Registry. May 03. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/262/history/17203
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The details of our intervention will remain hidden until the trial is complete.
Intervention Start Date
2014-04-01
Intervention End Date
2014-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our key outcome variables will remain hidden until the trial is complete.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our experimental design will remain hidden until the trial is complete.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
This field will remain hidden until the trial is complete.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
4,000.
Sample size: planned number of observations
16,000.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,000 in each of 4 treatment arms.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Our power calculations suggest that we will be able to detect a 1 percentage point difference at a significance level of 5 percent and at 80 percent power for the overall treatment, and 1.5 percentage points for key subgroups.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2013-10-18
IRB Approval Number
IRB13-1856
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Deming_FPAudit.pdf

MD5: 0f6506d9f6eff9ecedc17c0bd63aab7c

SHA1: 27bbe62aeff0f2b4bffc3ede4c30676db7d66b4b

Uploaded At: March 30, 2014

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials