Lecture Title

Information Asymmetries in College Admissions

Abstract

This paper provides quasi-experimental evidence on the value of information provision in centralized college admissions. The variation in access to information stems from a batched dynamic matching mechanism adopted in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. Students are grouped into batches based on test scores and face different deadlines to finalize their choice submission: students just above the cutoffs (JACs) finalize their choices along with their higher-scoring peers and thus only observe the tentative choices, whereas students just below the cutoffs (JBCs) can observe the finalized choices of higher-scoring peers. Using administrative data linked with university post-graduation outcomes, we find that JBCs are more likely to apply for colleges considered reach options and are admitted to significantly more selective colleges. These colleges are more likely to be out-of-province and with graduates having higher starting salaries and higher graduate school attendance rates. The effects are more pronounced near batch cutoffs where access to such information is more important.

Speaker

Dr. Kang Le

Special Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Education, Nanjing University

Time

Thursday, December 5, 2024

13:00–14:30

Venue

Room 347, Qiushi Building

Host

Associate Professor Wang Fei

Speaker Bio

Dr. Kang Le is a Special Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Education, Nanjing University. He earned his PhD in Economics and Management of Education from the Graduate School of Education, Peking University, in 2018. His research focuses on education economics and labor economics, with recent interests in China’s college admission system and early childhood development. His work has been published in prestigious journals such as Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, and The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific. He received the Third Prize in the 6th National Award for Outstanding Educational Research Achievements by the Ministry of Education.