Cheating and Incentives: Learning from a Policy Experiment

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
Year: 2018
Volume: 10
Issue: 1
Pages: 298-325

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We use a database generated by a policy intervention that incentivized learning as measured by standardized exams to investigate empirically the relationship between cheating by students and cash incentives to students and teachers. We adapt methods from the education measurement literature to calculate the extent of cheating and show that cheating is more prevalent under treatments that provide monetary incentives to students (versus no incentives or incentives only to teachers). We provide evidence suggesting that students may have learned to cheat, with the number of cheating students per classroom increasing over time under treatments that provide monetary incentives to students.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejpol:v:10:y:2018:i:1:p:298-325
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25