Exercise Improves Academic Performance

Alexander Cappelen, Gary Charness, Mathias Ekström (mathias.ekstrom@nhh.no), Uri Gneezy and Bertil Tungodden
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Mathias Ekström: The Choice Lab, Postal: NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, and Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm, Sweden

No 1180, Working Paper Series from Research Institute of Industrial Economics

Abstract: We report the results of a randomized controlled trial testing whether incentivizing physical exercise improves the academic performance of college students. As expected, the intervention increases physical activity. The main result is that it generates a strong and significant improvement in academic performance, particularly for students who struggled at the baseline in terms of lifestyle habits. We also provide evidence on the underlying mechanisms: Students who were incentivized to exercise have a healthier life style and improved self-control. Overall, the study demonstrates that incentivizing students to exercise can be an important tool in improving educational achievements.

Keywords: C93; I12; I18; I21; Z20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 I12 I18 I21 Z20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2017-09-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-edu, nep-exp and nep-hea
Note: Economics of education; Human capital formation; Behavior change; Field experiment
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1180

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