Making Decisions for a Better Future: The Dynamic Complementarities of Educational Information Interventions in Peru

We evaluate how public school students in Peru develop their preferences across different fields of study, their beliefs regarding their own talents and the feasibility of attending college, and how these beliefs affect their decisions along several margins related to human capital (including both extensive and intensive margins). Specifically, we investigate how parents and students (grade 5 through 11) respond to information regarding returns to increasing education levels,
returns to specific majors, and financial aid availability. Administrative data is used to measure outcomes such as drop-out and matriculation rates, while student surveys clarify the mechanisms through which such information affects beliefs, expectations, and skill-set investment. Baseline analyses indicate that parents lack knowledge of children’s abilities and opportunities, inducing decreased educational investment and substitution of labor for academics. Baseline data from our
study also shows that children become less optimistic about their academic opportunities as they age. Using administrative data, we find promising evidence of impact on dropout rates three months post-delivery of information intervention.