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Do Deadlines Affect Project Completion? Experimental Evidence from Israeli Vocational Colleges

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  • Gershoni, Naomi
  • Stryjan, Miri

Abstract

We study a large-scale intervention aimed at increasing graduation rates in Israeli vocational colleges. In this context, the main reason for low graduation rates has been found to be the failure of students to complete the required final project. This may result from procrastination which is prevalent among students in many settings. To address procrastination, we introduce a deadline for final project defense in randomly selected departments while control group departments maintain the practice of scheduling defense dates on a rolling basis. We compare student performance over time in treated and control departments in a difference-in-differences framework and find no effect of deadlines on project defense or on graduation rates. A potential explanation for these findings is that there are other constraints faced by students, such as academic difficulties or a low perceived value of the diploma, which are not alleviated by the deadline. Using administrative and survey data, we find that deadlines have no effect even when the alternative constraints are not binding.

Suggested Citation

  • Gershoni, Naomi & Stryjan, Miri, 2023. "Do Deadlines Affect Project Completion? Experimental Evidence from Israeli Vocational Colleges," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 359-375.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:205:y:2023:i:c:p:359-375
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.10.034
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Deadlines; Higher education; Vocational education; Field experiment; Procrastination; Educational attainment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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