Subjective Beliefs and Dynamic Human Capital Investment Decisions in Dominican Republic
Abstract
This five year project looks to study how and why information could affect the human capital investment decisions of young students in the Dominican Republic. Together with the government of the Dominican Republic and in particular with our partners at IDEICE, we develop and test at scale a policy relevant information intervention that conveyed information about the feasibility and labor market earnings associated with different levels of education levels. The intervention consisted of a series of telenovela videos, classroom posters and class discussions. Over a four year period the project implemented in ever larger sets of public schools finally reaching 50% of all schools in 2016. Detailed information about beliefs, time use and academic achievement was collected for a large panel of students, parents, teachers and principals. Following a successful policy implementation and evaluation, the intervention has now been adopted as a government policy and has been implemented in all public schools in the country.
- Coauthors: James Berry, Lucas Coffman and Daniel Morales
- Date: 2014
