I've booked you a place, good luck: A field experiment applying behavioral science to improve attendance at high impact recruitment events

Michael Sanders and Elspeth Kirkman
Additional contact information
Michael Sanders: Behavioural Insights Team
Elspeth Kirkman: Behavioural Insights Team

Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 2019, vol. 2, issue 1

Abstract: Finding a job, especially in a recovering or uncertain economy, is challenging. Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) welfare benefit claimants in the United Kingdom have many competing options available to them in terms of how they direct their efforts in looking for work. Jobcentres, the organizations that support job seekers, have very strong links to the labor market and often run recruitment events in direct partnership with large employers seeking to hire in bulk. Attendance at these events, or any other specific job search activity, is typically low. This article reports the results of a randomized control trial designed to test the effectiveness of mobile phone text messaging in compelling jobseekers to attend such events. Tailored text messages are found to significantly increase the likelihood of attendance. We find text messages to be particularly effective when they seek to induce reciprocity and address low morale in the recipient.

Keywords: Labor market; Employment; Field experiment; Reciprocity; Personalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D90 D91 J64 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journal-bpa.org/index.php/jbpa/article/download/24/36 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpd:articl:v:2:y:2019:i:1:jbpa.21.24

DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.21.24

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Behavioral Public Administration from Center for Experimental and Behavioral Public Administration
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sebastian Jilke ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).