Can Social Information Affect What Job You Choose and Keep?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Coffman, Lucas C.; Featherstone, Clayton R.; Kessler, Judd B.
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20140468
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 96-117
• 关键词: field experiment; public-goods; Conditional cooperation; energy-conservation; BEHAVIOR; NORMS; decisions; IMPACT; news

摘要

We show that the provision of social information influences a high-stakes decision and this influence persists over time. In a field experiment involving thousands of admits to Mach For America, those told about the previous year's matriculation rate are more likely to accept a teaching job, complete training, start, and return a second year. To show robustness, we develop a simple theory that identifies subgroups where we expect larger treatment effects and find our effect is larger in those subgroups. That social information can have a powerful, persistent effect on high-stakes behavior broadens its relevance for policy and theory.