2003,2006,2030 EBP:30-04-26 EBP:30-04-26 10:37:08.000 EBP:30-04-26 utf8 0 Oax Text txt Computermedien c Online-Ressource cr 1970157755 NBER w35103 EBP 127373438 KEP 127373438 eng rda 2026 April 2026 https://www.nber.org/papers/w35103 X:NBER H ZZ http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w35103 X:NBER R ZZ ZDB-194-NBW XD-US Nudging Parents out the Door The Impacts of Parental Encouragement on School Choice and Test Scores Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Michael Kremer, Joost de Laat, Oluchi Mbonu, Cole Scanlon Guthrie Gray-Lobe Michael Kremer Joost de Laat Oluchi Mbonu Cole Scanlon National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge, Mass National Bureau of Economic Research 1 Online-Ressource illustrations (black and white) NBER working paper series no. w35103 Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers s Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness s Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making s Analysis of Education s Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility s Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration JEL D83 JEL D91 JEL I21 JEL L15 JEL O15 This study evaluates a large-scale SMS outreach program to engage caregivers of students in private primary schools in Kenya. Using a two-stage randomization design, we tested two types of weekly SMS messages: growth-mindset encouragement and personalized performance information. We find two main effects: First, outreach improved test scores by 0.07 standard deviations, with particularly strong gains among initially lower-performing students. This improvement generates 12 learning-adjusted years of schooling per US$100 spent--making it highly cost-effective relative to other education interventions. Second, outreach increased student exit rates by 4.7-5.0 percentage points, with effects concentrated among higher-achieving students (5.7 to 6.6 percent-age points). We develop a theoretical model of vertically differentiated schools where parental engagement affects both learning production and school choice. The model shows that when parents update their understanding of education production through engagement programs, they become more sensitive to perceived school quality differences. This increased sensitivity can lead lower-quality schools to forgo implementing engagement programs--even when costless--as enhanced parental discernment accelerates student exits. Our findings suggest a role for third-party provision of parent engagement programs in competitive education markets 2003 PICA 30-04-26 30-04-26 16:06:22.000 FRUB:30-04-26 utf8 4961104566 ZDB-194-NBW 30-04-26 l01 25 n 00 ebok ebnb e268 12 https://www.redi-bw.de/start/unifr/NBER-online/10.3386/w35103 Elektronischer Volltext - Universitätslizenz 30-04-26 8 2006 PICA 30-04-26 30-04-26 16:06:46.000 DDSU:30-04-26 utf8 4961112178 30-04-26 l01 14 00 NABZ 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w35103 2030 PICA 30-04-26 30-04-26 16:05:26.000 MZU001:30-04-26 utf8 4961088935 ZDB-194-NBW 30-04-26 l01 77/001 n 00 pack 12 V873 00 http://dx.doi.org/10.3386/w35103 Online-Zugriff über die Universität Mainz