ERIC Number: EJ1320328
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-8739
EISSN: N/A
Nudges Don't Work When the Benefits Are Ambiguous: Evidence from a High-Stakes Education Program
Castleman, Benjamin L.; Murphy, Francis X.; Patterson, Richard W.; Skimmyhorn, William L.
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, v40 n4 p1230-1248 Fall 2021
The Post-9/11 GI Bill allows service members to transfer generous education benefits to a dependent. We run a large-scale experiment that encourages service members to consider the transfer option among a population that includes individuals for whom the transfer benefits are clear and individuals for whom the net-benefits are significantly more ambiguous. We find no impact of a one-time e-mail about benefits transfer among service members for whom we predict considerable ambiguity in the action, but sizeable impacts among service members for whom education benefits transfer is far less ambiguous. Our work contributes to the nascent literature investigating conditions when low-touch nudges at scale may be effective.
Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Veterans, Military Personnel, Dependents, Educational Opportunities, Student Financial Aid, Electronic Mail, Program Effectiveness, Prompting
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: G I Bill
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A