Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/296090 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11001
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
To study whether a soft commitment device can help students succeed, we conduct a randomized field experiment and follow a cohort of tertiary students over six years. Students can commit to following their recommended study program structure, and they receive reminders each semester. This easily implementable, low-cost intervention is highly effective: it increases the five-year graduation rate (+15 percentage points) and reduces time to graduation (-0.42 semesters), driven by reduced dropout and an increase in credits obtained per semester. The effects are stronger for suspected procrastinators. A treatment only reminding students to follow the program structure has limited effects.
Subjects: 
commitment device
reminders
higher education
randomized field experiment
JEL: 
I21
I23
C93
D90
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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