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Does Expert Advice Improve Educational Choice?

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  • Lex Borghans
  • Bart H H Golsteyn
  • Anders Stenberg

Abstract

This paper reports evidence that an individual meeting with a study counselor at high school significantly improves the quality of choice of tertiary educational field, as self-assessed 18 months after graduation from college. To address endogeneity, we explore the variation in study counseling practices between schools as an instrumental variable (IV). Following careful scrutiny of the validity of the IV, our results indicate a significant and positive influence of study counseling on the quality of educational choice, foremost among males and those with low educated parents. The overall result is stable across a number of robustness checks.

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  • Lex Borghans & Bart H H Golsteyn & Anders Stenberg, 2015. "Does Expert Advice Improve Educational Choice?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0145378
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145378
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    2. Saniter, Nils & Siedler, Thomas, 2014. "The Effects of Occupational Knowledge: Job Information Centers, Educational Choices, and Labor Market Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 8100, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Herber, Stefanie P., 2018. "The role of information in the application for highly selective scholarships: Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 287-301.
    4. French, Robert & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2017. "Behavioral barriers transitioning to college," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 48-63.
    5. Saniter, Nils & Schnitzlein, Daniel D. & Siedler, Thomas, 2019. "Occupational knowledge and educational mobility: Evidence from the introduction of job information centers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 108-124.
    6. Fitzenberger, Bernd & Licklederer, Stefanie, 2016. "Additional Career Assistance and Educational Outcomes for Students in Lower Track Secondary Schools," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145787, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Adam M. Lavecchia & Heidi Liu & Philip Oreopoulos, 2014. "Behavioral Economics of Education: Progress and Possibilities," NBER Working Papers 20609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Pistolesi, Nicolas, 2017. "Advising students on their field of study: Evidence from a French University reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 106-121.
    9. Reiling, Rune Borgan & Salvanes, Kari Vea & Sandsør, Astrid Marie Jorde, 2022. "Do welfare counsellors help at-risk upper secondary school students?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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