Behavioral Economics of Education: Progress and Possibilities

92 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2015

See all articles by Adam Lavecchia

Adam Lavecchia

McMaster University; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Heidi Liu

George Washington University - Law School

Philip Oreopoulos

University of Toronto - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)

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Abstract

Behavioral economics attempts to integrate insights from psychology, neuroscience, and sociology in order to better predict individual outcomes and develop more effective policy. While the field has been successfully applied to many areas, education has, so far, received less attention – a surprising oversight, given the field's key interest in long-run decision-making and the propensity of youth to make poor long-run decisions. In this chapter, we review the emerging literature on the behavioral economics of education. We first develop a general framework for thinking about why youth and their parents might not always take full advantage of education opportunities. We then discuss how these behavioral barriers may be preventing some students from improving their long-run welfare. We evaluate the recent but rapidly growing efforts to develop policies that mitigate these barriers, many of which have been examined in experimental settings. Finally, we discuss future prospects for research in this emerging field.

Keywords: behavioral economics of education, present-bias, student motivation

JEL Classification: D03, D87, I2, J24

Suggested Citation

Lavecchia, Adam and Liu, Heidi and Oreopoulos, Philip, Behavioral Economics of Education: Progress and Possibilities. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8853, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2568069 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2568069

Adam Lavecchia (Contact Author)

McMaster University ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
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Heidi Liu

George Washington University - Law School ( email )

2000 H Street, N.W.
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United States

Philip Oreopoulos

University of Toronto - Department of Economics ( email )

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Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G7
Canada

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)

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Toronto, Ontario
Canada

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