Information Barriers, Social Inequality, and Plans for Higher Education
Evidence from a Field Experiment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2236049 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Carlo Barone (0000-0003-4309-7001, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris), Antonio Schizzerotto (0000-0003-2767-3072, University of Trento), Giovanni Abbiati (0000-0002-0236-8787, corresponding author), Gianluca Argentin (0000-0002-3103-2561, University of Milan) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Pages | jcw062 |
| Publication date | 2017-01-12 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Sociological Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-7215 • E-ISSN: 1468-2672 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/esr/jcw062 |
| OpenAlex | W4253153778 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 44 |
| References cited | 14 |
Our article assesses the role of information barriers for patterns of educational participation and related social inequalities in plans for Higher Education (HE). Using longitudinal data, we investigate student expectations about the profitability of HE, their evolution over time and their correlation with study plans among Italian high school seniors. We find that student believes are highly inaccurate, systematically biased and poorly updated. Then, we present estimates of the causal effect of information barriers on educational plans based on a large-scale clustered randomized experiment. We designed a counseling intervention to correct student misperceptions of the profitability of HE and assessed whether treated students’ plans changed differentially relative to a control group. The intervention was quite effective in correcting student misperceptions, but this did not translate into increased intentions to enroll in university education. However, the treatment affected preferences between fields of study, between short and long university paths, and between university and vocationally oriented programs. Hence, information barriers affect substantially the internal differentiation of HE and the related horizontal inequalities by gender and family background.
Affect (linguistics) · Control (management) · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Field (mathematics) · Geography · Higher education · Inequality · Intervention (counseling) · Management · Medical education · Profitability index · Scale (ratio) · Social inequality · Sociology · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth · Higher Education Research Studies · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Mathematics · Medicine · Psychology · School Choice and Performance · Social Psychology
Soziale Herkunft und die Umsetzung von Studienaspirationen
The unnoticed influence of peers on educational preferences
Emotional Exhaustion and Engagement in Higher Education Students during a Crisis, Lessons Learned from Covid-19 Experience in Italian Universities
Social Inequality in Dropout from Higher Education in Germany. Towards Combining the Student Integration Model and Rational Choice Theory
Inequality of Opportunity in Tertiary Education
Permanência na educação superior brasileira
Nudging gender desegregation
Beliefs, parental investments, and intergenerational persistence
Pathways to college admissions
Stratification of educational quality judgments
Social origin and secondary labour market entry
Gender differences in the choice of field of study and the relevance of income information. Insights from a field experiment
Investigating the impact of interventions on educational disparities
Same but different
The effects of an information campaign beyond university enrolment
Explaining gender segregation in higher education
Unequal expectations? Testing decisional mechanisms for secondary effects of social origin
Study Programs, Public Rankings, and College Enrollment Intentions
Guidance Counseling Can Reduce Inequality in University Enrollment in Germany
Explaining Native‐Migrant Differences in Parental Knowledge about the German Educational System
Do students need more information to leave the beaten paths? The impact of a counseling intervention on high school students’ choice of major
Academic selectivity and student progression
Information barriers and social stratification in higher education
Soziale Herkunft und die Umsetzung von Studienaspirationen
Ready or not, here I come
Do university-educated families lose their edge as education expands? The withering performance and advantage of their children
Do Intensive Guidance Programs Reduce Social Inequality in the Transition to Higher Education? Results of a Field Experiment
Free school meals and educational outcomes
Revisiting the Impact of the College Scorecard on Demand for Colleges
Misconceptions of earnings and their consequences for social stratification in vocational aspirations and attainment
Risk–return preferences, gender inequalities and the moderating role of a counselling intervention on choice of major
Inequality of Educational Opportunity in East and West Germany
The impact of guidance counselling on gender segregation
The role of parents’ educational background in upper secondary students’ utilization of career guidance resources
The rural-urban gap in educational inequality
The Compensatory Role of Diverse Workplaces
La perspectiva sociológica sobre la racionalidad y la desigualdad educativa
Applying to college
Student Perceptions of College Opportunities
Determinants of College Major Choice
The Role of Application Assistance and Information in College Decisions
Maps of Bounded Rationality
The Evidence on Credit Constraints in Post‐Secondary Schooling
A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing
Explaining Educational Differentials
Cultural capital or relative risk aversion? Two mechanisms for educational inequality compared1
Explaining Educational Decision and Effects of Families' Social Class Position
Real and imagined barriers to college entry
| Unique citing works | 38 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4,89 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |