Can Financial Incentives Enhance Educational Outcomes? Evidence from International Experiments

TY - JOUR

T1 - Can Financial Incentives Enhance Educational Outcomes?

T2 - Evidence from International Experiments

AU - Slavin, Robert

N1 - Database: ERIC Record type: New. Language: English DataStar source field: Educational Research Review, 2010, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 68-80, pp. 13, 0 refs., ISSN: 1747-938X. DataStar update date: 20100409

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in financial incentives to encourage students to attend school and to improve their academic achievement, graduation rates, and other outcomes. Conditional cash transfers programmes in developing countries, especially PROGRESA in Mexico, have found positive effects on attendance in large-scale randomized experiments, and this has encouraged similar initiatives throughout the world. This article reviews research on effects of conditional cash transfers and other financial incentive schemes on educational outcomes. Research in developing countries has found that providing families with significant financial incentives modestly increases secondary students' attendance. Effects on graduation rates and on actual learning are less well documented. In developed countries the evidence is less supportive.

AB - In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in financial incentives to encourage students to attend school and to improve their academic achievement, graduation rates, and other outcomes. Conditional cash transfers programmes in developing countries, especially PROGRESA in Mexico, have found positive effects on attendance in large-scale randomized experiments, and this has encouraged similar initiatives throughout the world. This article reviews research on effects of conditional cash transfers and other financial incentive schemes on educational outcomes. Research in developing countries has found that providing families with significant financial incentives modestly increases secondary students' attendance. Effects on graduation rates and on actual learning are less well documented. In developed countries the evidence is less supportive.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=76649092322&partnerID=8YFLogxK

M3 - Article

SN - 0034-6543

VL - 5

SP - 68

EP - 80

JO - Review of Educational Research

JF - Review of Educational Research

IS - 1

ER -