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Investment in education under disappointment aversion

Author

Listed:
  • Dan Anderberg

    (Department of Economics, Royal Holloway University of London)

  • Claudia Cerrone

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods)

Abstract

This paper develops a model of risky investment in education under disappointment aversion, modelled as loss aversion around one's endogenous expectation. The model shows that disappointment aversion reduces the optimal investment in education for lower ability people and increases it for higher ability people, thereby magnifying the investment gap between them generated by the riskiness of education. Policies aimed at influencing students' expectations can reduce early dropout.

Suggested Citation

  • Dan Anderberg & Claudia Cerrone, 2016. "Investment in education under disappointment aversion," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2016_16, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    • Handle: RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2016_16
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Björn Bartling & Leif Brandes & Daniel Schunk, 2015. "Expectations as Reference Points: Field Evidence from Professional Soccer," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(11), pages 2646-2661, November.
    2. Pedro Carneiro & James J. Heckman, 2002. "The Evidence on Credit Constraints in Post--secondary Schooling," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 705-734, October.
    3. Goux, Dominique & Gurgand, Marc & Maurin, Eric, 2014. "Adjusting Your Dreams? The Effect of School and Peers on Dropout Behaviour," IZA Discussion Papers 7948, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    5. B. Douglas Bernheim & Antonio Rangel, 2005. "Behavioral Public Economics: Welfare and Policy Analysis with Non-Standard Decision-Makers," NBER Working Papers 11518, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Dan Anderberg & Claudia Cerrone, 2014. "Education, Disappointment and Optimal Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 5141, CESifo.
    7. Adam M. Lavecchia & Heidi Liu & Philip Oreopoulos, 2014. "Behavioral Economics of Education: Progress and Possibilities," NBER Working Papers 20609, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; risk; disappointment aversion; endogeneous reference points;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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