RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Major Malfunction: A Field Experiment Correcting Undergraduates’ Beliefs about Salaries
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0317-8599R2
DO 10.3368/jhr.56.3.0317-8599R2
A1 John J. Conlon
YR 2019
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/09/10/jhr.56.3.0317-8599R2.abstract
AB I test, in a field experiment at a flagship state university in the US, whether providing college students salary information can affect their choices of major and classes. I find that undergraduates are substantially misinformed about mean salaries by major. On average, students in my sample underestimate mean salaries, but there is also large heterogeneity in beliefs across individuals. I also find that providing information to correct these errors has a large impact on students’ choices; students in the treatment group were nine percentage points (16%) more likely to major in a field about which they received information.