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bunte Geburtstagstorte zum 50. Geburtstag mit brennenden Kerzen (refer to: 50 years of Comparative Population Studies – a look back and ahead) | Source: © Lukas Gojda/stock.adobe.com

Interview50 years of Comparative Population Studies – a look back and ahead

Founded by the BiB in 1975: The journal Comparative Population Studies (CPoS) has been shaping population science research ever since. Dr. Katrin Schiefer, the editor in charge, looks at achievements, challenges and potential.

Peer-Reviewed Articles in Scientific JournalsInforming students about college: Increasing enrollment using a behavioral intervention?

Peter, Frauke; Spieß, C. Katharina; Zambre, Vaishali (2021)

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Volume 190. Amsterdam: Elsevier : 524–549

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.07.032

This study sheds light on whether the provision of information on costs, financing options, and returns of college education results in higher application and college enrollment rates. Based on a behavioral intervention with more than 1,000 high school students in Germany, we provide evidence that the provision of such information increases college application and enrollment rates, in particular for students with a pre-treatment study intention. The size of the enrollment effect becomes larger for students if neither of the parents has a college degree. Treated students are slightly more likely than those in the control group to persist in college for two years after enrollment. In contrast to other studies, our results indicate that a low-cost intervention, with a bundle of various information on college education, can be an effective tool to encourage students to translate their college intentions into actual enrollment. We show this in a setting without tuition fees.