What motivates students to work hard in school? Experimental evidence contrasting interventions from economics and psychology

Economists have found that providing students with information on the returns to schooling can induce them to stay in school longer and improve their achievement. Similarly, psychologists have found that informing students about the brain’s capacity to grow and reorganize when individuals respond productively to difficult situations can improve school performance and achievement. Yet, no study has explored which of these two approaches is more (cost-) effective at motivating students to stay in and succeed in school. I propose a randomized evaluation of two brief and inexpensive informational interventions on returns to schooling and the malleability of the brain for students in grades 7 through 12 in Argentina. The study will be conducted among participants of an existing education program, capitalizing on the data already collected by the program and setting up an infrastructure to take the interventions to scale, if they are successful.