Lights, camera, school: Information provision through television during COVID-19 times

Francisco A. Gallego; Oswaldo Molina; Christopher A. Neilson

Lights, camera, school: Information provision through television during COVID-19 times

Francisco A. Gallego
, Oswaldo Molina
, Christopher A. Neilson

Producción científica: Documento de trabajo

Resumen

Este artículo examina los efectos de proporcionar información sobre los beneficios futuros de asistir a la escuela mediante la transmisión de una breve telenovela titulada "Decidiendo para un Futuro Mejor" (DFM) en la televisión nacional durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en Perú. DFM utiliza videos persuasivos que destacan las ventajas de la educación, proporcionando información concreta sobre salarios y ayudas financieras para la educación superior. Implementamos un diseño de incentivo aleatorio utilizando llamadas telefónicas para promover que las familias vean televisión cuando se emitían los videos de DFM, con una muestra de más de 80,000 familias con hijos en secundaria de 1,978 escuelas. Investigamos el impacto de la intervención en las tasas de deserción escolar en 2021. Nuestros hallazgos indican que la provisión de información condujo a una reducción significativa en las tasas de deserción escolar, con efectos de intención de tratamiento de alrededor de -0.6 pp, lo cual es sustancial considerando la tasa promedio de deserción del 10.2% en el grupo de control. Encontramos efectos más fuertes para estudiantes de escuelas con mayores tasas iniciales de deserción y pobreza. También observamos efectos más fuertes en las niñas, sin diferencias notables en los efectos según la educación de los padres. Estos resultados no solo resaltan la prevalencia de la desinformación en torno a la educación, sino que también sugieren estrategias rentables para mitigar sus consecuencias.

Idioma original	Inglés
Lugar de publicación	Santiago
Número de páginas	17
Estado	Publicada - ago. 2024

Series de publicaciones

Nombre	Documento de trabajo
Editor	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Instituto de Economía
N.º	579
ISSN (impreso)	0716-7334
ISSN (electrónico)	0717-7593

ODS de las Naciones Unidas

Este resultado contribuye a los siguientes Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

ODS 1: Fin de la pobreza
ODS 4: Educación de calidad
ODS 10: Reducción de las desigualdades
ODS 17: Alianzas para lograr los objetivos

Palabras clave

Provisión de información
Educación
Deserción escolar
Televisión

Acceder al documento

https://economia.uc.cl/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/dt-579.pdf

Lights, camera, school: Information provision though television during COVID-19 times
Gallego, F. A., Molina, O. & Neilson, C. A., set. 2025, En: Journal of Development Economics. 176, 11 p., 103504.
Producción científica: Contribución a una revista › Artículo de revista › revisión exhaustiva
1 Cita (Scopus)

Citar esto

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title = "Lights, camera, school: Information provision through television during COVID-19 times",

abstract = "This paper examines the effects of providing information on the future benefits of attending school through the airing of a short telenovela titled “Decidiendo para un Futuro Mejor” (Deciding for a Better Future, hereafter DFM) on national television during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. DFM utilizes persuasive videos that highlight the advantages of education while providing concrete information on wages and financial aid for higher education. We implemented a randomized encouragement design using phone calls to promote watching TV when DFM videos were screened, with a sample of more than 80,000 families with high school children from 1,978 schools. We investigate the impact of the intervention on dropout rates in 2021. Our findings indicate that the provision of information led to a significant reduction in school dropout rates, with intention to treat effects of about -0.6 pp, which is substantial considering the average dropout rate of 10.2\% in the control group. We find stronger effects for students from schools with higher initial dropout and poverty rates. We also find stronger effects for girls, with no observable differences in effects by parental education. These results not only highlight the prevalence of misinformation surrounding education but also suggest cost-effective strategies for mitigating its consequences.",

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AU - Gallego, Francisco A.

AU - Molina, Oswaldo

AU - Neilson, Christopher A.

PY - 2024/8

Y1 - 2024/8

N2 - This paper examines the effects of providing information on the future benefits of attending school through the airing of a short telenovela titled “Decidiendo para un Futuro Mejor” (Deciding for a Better Future, hereafter DFM) on national television during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. DFM utilizes persuasive videos that highlight the advantages of education while providing concrete information on wages and financial aid for higher education. We implemented a randomized encouragement design using phone calls to promote watching TV when DFM videos were screened, with a sample of more than 80,000 families with high school children from 1,978 schools. We investigate the impact of the intervention on dropout rates in 2021. Our findings indicate that the provision of information led to a significant reduction in school dropout rates, with intention to treat effects of about -0.6 pp, which is substantial considering the average dropout rate of 10.2% in the control group. We find stronger effects for students from schools with higher initial dropout and poverty rates. We also find stronger effects for girls, with no observable differences in effects by parental education. These results not only highlight the prevalence of misinformation surrounding education but also suggest cost-effective strategies for mitigating its consequences.

AB - This paper examines the effects of providing information on the future benefits of attending school through the airing of a short telenovela titled “Decidiendo para un Futuro Mejor” (Deciding for a Better Future, hereafter DFM) on national television during the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. DFM utilizes persuasive videos that highlight the advantages of education while providing concrete information on wages and financial aid for higher education. We implemented a randomized encouragement design using phone calls to promote watching TV when DFM videos were screened, with a sample of more than 80,000 families with high school children from 1,978 schools. We investigate the impact of the intervention on dropout rates in 2021. Our findings indicate that the provision of information led to a significant reduction in school dropout rates, with intention to treat effects of about -0.6 pp, which is substantial considering the average dropout rate of 10.2% in the control group. We find stronger effects for students from schools with higher initial dropout and poverty rates. We also find stronger effects for girls, with no observable differences in effects by parental education. These results not only highlight the prevalence of misinformation surrounding education but also suggest cost-effective strategies for mitigating its consequences.

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KW - Educación

KW - Deserción escolar

KW - Televisión

KW - Information provision

KW - Education

KW - School dropout

KW - Television

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T3 - Documento de trabajo

BT - Lights, camera, school

CY - Santiago

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Lights, camera, school: Information provision through television during COVID-19 times

Resumen

Series de publicaciones

ODS de las Naciones Unidas

Palabras clave

Acceder al documento

Huella

Producción científica

Lights, camera, school: Information provision though television during COVID-19 times

Citar esto