TUITION FEES AND SUNK-COST EFFECTS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ketel, Nadine; Linde, Jona; Oosterbeek, Hessel; van der Klaauw, Bas
• 署名单位: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Tinbergen Institute; University of Amsterdam
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12297
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 2342-2362
• 关键词: field experiment; attendance; DECISION; entry; aid

摘要

This article reports on a field experiment testing for sunk-cost effects in an education setting. Students signing up for extra-curricular tutorial sessions randomly received a discount on the tuition fee. The sunk-cost effect predicts that students who pay more will attend more tutorial sessions, with possibly beneficial effects on their performance. For our full sample, we find no support for this hypothesis, neither on attendance nor on performance. Results are consistent with a sunk-cost effect for the subsample of students who, based on hypothetical survey questions, are identified as sunk-cost prone. We do not find differential effects by students' income or parental contributions.