The Role of Fun in the Education Production Function: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Can fun enhance learning? We conduct a randomized controlled trial of a long-term assessment involving an economic simulation in which undergraduate students were randomly offered purely aesthetic visual enhancements. While male students experienced a 0.3 standard deviation (SD) decline in their overall course grades, female students' grades improved by 0.27 SDs, and they experienced positive spillover effects on their grades in other courses. These combined effects completely eliminated the gender gap in course outcomes. Behaviorally, treated females increased the number of simulation sessions and decreased their duration, while men exhibited the opposite behavior. Additionally, females correctly adjusted their expectations of course performance upward. To unpack the mechanisms, we estimate a structural model, which suggests that accessories increased exam productivity, preferences for grades, and knowledge retention for females. However, they also acted as a distraction, increasing effort costs particularly for males. Factors such as self-confidence were ruled out.

Keywords: human capital, accessories, randomized controlled trial

JEL Classification: J24, J18