IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/beexfi/v31y2021ics2214635021000927.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of information provision to parents: Experimental evidence on student outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Maldonado, Joana Elisa
  • De Witte, Kristof

Abstract

Targeted parental involvement is increasingly employed to activate parents to use their supporting role to enhance learning effects of students. Given the low cost, one popular measure is information provision to parents. However, the evidence on such measures remains limited. This study provides causal evidence on the effects of information provision to parents in a financial education course where parental involvement was stimulated. Based on a randomised controlled trial with 1253 students from grade 8 and 9 in Flanders, we identify the effects of the classroom intervention separately from parental involvement prompted in homework and the provision of subject-specific information to parents on students’ learning outcomes. The estimates reveal that, overall, the treatment effectively increases financial knowledge and skills. However, despite its popularity in schools, the value added of prompting parental involvement and providing parents information is not significant overall, but only for financial skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Maldonado, Joana Elisa & De Witte, Kristof, 2021. "The impact of information provision to parents: Experimental evidence on student outcomes," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:31:y:2021:i:c:s2214635021000927
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100548
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214635021000927
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100548?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Melanie Lührmann & Marta Serra-Garcia & Joachim Winter, 2018. "The Impact of Financial Education on Adolescents' Intertemporal Choices," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 309-332, August.
    2. Susan E. Mayer & Ariel Kalil & Philip Oreopoulos & Sebastian Gallegos, 2019. "Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Parental Engagement: The Parents and Children Together Intervention," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(4), pages 900-925.
    3. Kaiser, Tim & Lusardi, Annamaria & Menkhoff, Lukas & Urban, Carly, 2022. "Financial education affects financial knowledge and downstream behaviors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 255-272.
    4. Grohmann, Antonia & Kouwenberg, Roy & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2015. "Childhood roots of financial literacy," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 114-133.
    5. Hidrobo, Melissa & Hoddinott, John & Peterman, Amber & Margolies, Amy & Moreira, Vanessa, 2014. "Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 144-156.
    6. Francesco Avvisati & Marc Gurgand & Nina Guyon & Eric Maurin, 2014. "Getting Parents Involved: A Field Experiment in Deprived Schools," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(1), pages 57-83.
    7. Geert Van Campenhout, 2015. "Revaluing the Role of Parents as Financial Socialization Agents in Youth Financial Literacy Programs," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 186-222, March.
    8. Miriam Bruhn & Luciana de Souza Leão & Arianna Legovini & Rogelio Marchetti & Bilal Zia, 2016. "The Impact of High School Financial Education: Evidence from a Large-Scale Evaluation in Brazil," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 256-295, October.
    9. Iacus, Stefano & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2009. "cem: Software for Coarsened Exact Matching," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 30(i09).
    10. Kaiser, Tim & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2020. "Financial education in schools: A meta-analysis of experimental studies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Berlinski, Samuel & Busso, Matías & Dinkelman, Taryn & Martínez, Claudia, 2021. "Reducing Parent-School Information Gaps and Improving Education Outcomes: Evidence from High-Frequency Text Messages," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 11234, Inter-American Development Bank.
    12. Iterbeke, Kaat & De Witte, Kristof & Declercq, Koen & Schelfhout, Wouter, 2020. "The effect of ability matching and differentiated instruction in financial literacy education. Evidence from two randomised control trials," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Bucciol, Alessandro & Veronesi, Marcella, 2014. "Teaching children to save: What is the best strategy for lifetime savings?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-17.
    14. Leonardo Becchetti & Stefano Caiazza & Decio Coviello, 2011. "Financial education and investment attitudes in high schools: evidence from a randomized experiment," CEIS Research Paper 210, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 07 Sep 2011.
    15. Peter Bergman & Eric W. Chan, 2021. "Leveraging Parents through Low-Cost Technology: The Impact of High-Frequency Information on Student Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(1), pages 125-158.
    16. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    17. Slemrod, Joel & Blumenthal, Marsha & Christian, Charles, 2001. "Taxpayer response to an increased probability of audit: evidence from a controlled experiment in Minnesota," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 455-483, March.
    18. Oosterbeek, Hessel & van Praag, Mirjam & Ijsselstein, Auke, 2010. "The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship skills and motivation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 442-454, April.
    19. Peter Bergman, 2021. "Parent-Child Information Frictions and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(1), pages 286-322.
    20. Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk & David Huffman & Uwe Sunde, 2012. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk and Trust Attitudes," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 645-677.
    21. Bover, Olympia & Hospido, Laura & Villanueva, Ernesto, 2018. "The Impact of High School Financial Education on Financial Knowledge and Choices: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 11265, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. De Beckker, Kenneth & De Witte, Kristof & Van Campenhout, Geert, 2021. "The effect of financial education on students’ consumer choices: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 962-976.
    23. Webley, Paul & Nyhus, Ellen K., 2006. "Parents' influence on children's future orientation and saving," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 140-164, February.
    24. Benjamin N. York & Susanna Loeb & Christopher Doss, 2019. "One Step at a Time: The Effects of an Early Literacy Text-Messaging Program for Parents of Preschoolers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 537-566.
    25. Christopher Doss & Erin M. Fahle & Susanna Loeb & Benjamin N. York, 2019. "More Than Just a Nudge: Supporting Kindergarten Parents with Differentiated and Personalized Text Messages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 567-603.
    26. Bertoni, Danilo & Curzi, Daniele & Aletti, Giacomo & Olper, Alessandro, 2020. "Estimating the effects of agri-environmental measures using difference-in-difference coarsened exact matching," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    27. King, Gary & Nielsen, Richard, 2019. "Why Propensity Scores Should Not Be Used for Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 435-454, October.
    28. Lieberman, Evan S. & Posner, Daniel N. & Tsai, Lily L., 2014. "Does Information Lead to More Active Citizenship? Evidence from an Education Intervention in Rural Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 69-83.
    29. Moreno-Herrero, Dolores & Salas-Velasco, Manuel & Sánchez-Campillo, José, 2018. "Factors that influence the level of financial literacy among young people: The role of parental engagement and students' experiences with money matters," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 334-351.
    30. McKenzie, David, 2012. "Beyond baseline and follow-up: The case for more T in experiments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 210-221.
    31. Hanson, Thomas A. & Olson, Peter M., 2018. "Financial literacy and family communication patterns," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 64-71.
    32. Margaret Sherraden & Lissa Johnson & Baorong Guo & William Elliott, 2011. "Financial Capability in Children: Effects of Participation in a School-Based Financial Education and Savings Program," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 385-399, September.
    33. Rebecca Dizon-Ross, 2019. "Parents' Beliefs about Their Children's Academic Ability: Implications for Educational Investments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(8), pages 2728-2765, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Joana Elisa Maldonado & Kristof De Witte & Koen Declercq, 2022. "The effects of parental involvement in homework: two randomised controlled trials in financial education," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1439-1464, March.
    2. Esposito Acosta,Bruno Nicola & Sautmann,Anja, 2022. "Adaptive Experiments for Policy Choice : Phone Calls for Home Reading in Kenya," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10098, The World Bank.
    3. Iterbeke, Kaat & De Witte, Kristof & Declercq, Koen & Schelfhout, Wouter, 2020. "The effect of ability matching and differentiated instruction in financial literacy education. Evidence from two randomised control trials," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. De Beckker, Kenneth & De Witte, Kristof & Van Campenhout, Geert, 2021. "The effect of financial education on students’ consumer choices: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 962-976.
    5. Rodriguez-Raga, Santiago & Martinez-Camelo, Natalia, 2022. "Game, guide or website for financial education improvement: Evidence from an experiment in Colombian schools," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    6. Kaiser, Tim & Oberrauch, Luis, 2021. "Economic education at the expense of indoctrination? Evidence from Germany," EconStor Preprints 245801, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Berry, James & Karlan, Dean & Pradhan, Menno, 2018. "The Impact of Financial Education for Youth in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 71-89.
    8. Kaiser, Tim & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2022. "Active learning improves financial education: Experimental evidence from Uganda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Hanson, Thomas A. & Olson, Peter M., 2018. "Financial literacy and family communication patterns," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 64-71.
    10. Brown, Martin & Henchoz, Caroline & Spycher, Thomas, 2018. "Culture and financial literacy: Evidence from a within-country language border," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 62-85.
    11. Amaral, Sofia & Dinarte-Diaz, Lelys & Dominguez, Patricio & Perez-Vincent, Santiago M., 2024. "Helping families help themselves: The (Un)intended impacts of a digital parenting program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    12. Agasisti, Tommaso & Barucci, Emilio & Cannistrà, Marta & Marazzina, Daniele & Soncin, Mara, 2023. "Online or on-campus? Analysing the effects of financial education on student knowledge gain," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Hermes, Henning & Lergetporer, Philipp & Peter, Frauke & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "Behavioral Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 14698, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Panu Kalmi, 2018. "The Effects of Financial Education: Evidence from Finnish Lower Secondary Schools," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 47(2-3), pages 353-386, July.
    15. Oberrauch, Luis & Kaiser, Tim, 2020. "Economic competence in early secondary school: Evidence from a large-scale assessment in Germany," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    16. Nicoletti, Cheti & Sevilla, Almudena & Tonei, Valentina, 2022. "Gender Stereotypes in the Family," IZA Discussion Papers 15773, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & Moitshepi Matsheng, 2022. "Experimental evidence on learning using low-tech when school is out," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 941-950, July.
    18. Simon Calmar Andersen & Ulrik Hvidman, 2020. "Implementing Educational Interventions at Scale," Working Papers 2020-039, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    19. Michele Giannola, 2022. "Parental Investments and Intra-household Inequality in Child Human Capital: Evidence from a Survey Experiment," CSEF Working Papers 650, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 06 Dec 2022.
    20. Fernando Borraz & Ana Caro & Maira Caño-Guiral & María José Roa, 2021. "Financial education for youth. A randomized evaluation in Uruguay," Documentos de trabajo 2021011, Banco Central del Uruguay.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Parental involvement; Information; Financial literacy; Randomised controlled trial;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • A21 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Pre-college
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:31:y:2021:i:c:s2214635021000927. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-behavioral-and-experimental-finance .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.