In this study, I offer new evidence on the effectiveness of chatbots as an instructional mode via a randomized controlled experiment in which college seniors were given online training on the convenience of pursuing a master’s degree and the suitability of taking out a graduate student loan. Two educational formats, a YouTube video and a Facebook chatbot , were used for delivering that training to the experimental subjects. Economic education improved the economic knowledge needed to calculate a master’s degree’s viability (net present value) . The effectiveness of financial education in improving student loan debt literacy was also verified. However, the effectiveness of the chatbot-based learning was greater than that of the video format for providing economic education and only the chatbot delivery method was effective in providing financial education. Salas-Velasco, M. (2023). Economic and financial education for investment and financing decision-making in a graduate degree: Exp
Causal effects of financial education intervention on financial knowledge and financial self-efficacy
Based on a randomized controlled experiment among final-year undergraduate students, I provide an assessment of treatment effects of financial education intervention focused on debt-financed graduate education decision-making . Specifically, I find in this study positive treatment effects on both objective financial knowledge and subjective financial knowledge and self-confidence in financial decision-making . In addition, I carry out a causal mediation analysis to investigate the extent to which objective financial knowledge plays a mediating role in the effect of the financial education treatment on the intervention outcome (perceived financial self-efficacy). The mediation proportion, the proportion of treatment effect on outcome explained by the intermediate variable of financial knowledge, is around 0.21 (21%), which is important. Thus, policies that aim to improve financial capabilities among college students through financial education programs should be aware that financial l