Journal Article
Can information correct optimistic wage expectations?
Evidence from Mozambican job-seekers
Forward-looking expectations are central to job search but often inaccurate. To test whether public information can help correct beliefs, we embed an experiment in a longitudinal survey of Mozambican graduates. We quantify responses of own-earning expectations to information about peers’ current earnings, sent by SMS.
Optimistic beliefs were revised downward by a larger margin in the treatment group. But, consistent with a theoretical on-the-job search model, responses to news do not conform to a linear updating framework, with strong evidence for limited responses to negative news. This explains the moderate impact of our intervention and why optimistic expectations remained persistent.
Context
Corresponding publications
Working Paper | Updating great expectations