Self-Perceptions about Academic Achievement: Evidence from Mexico City

Matteo Bobba and Veronica Frisancho

No 12945, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that people exhibit large biases when processing information about themselves, but less is known about the underlying inference process. This paper studies belief updating patterns regarding academic ability in a large sample of students transitioning from middle to high school in Mexico City. The paper takes advantage of rich and longitudinal data on subjective beliefs together with randomized feedback about individual performance on an achievement test. On average, the performance feedback reduces the relative role of priors on posteriors and shifts substantial probability mass toward the signal. Further evidence reveals that males and high-socioeconomic status students, especially those attending relatively better schools, tend to process new information on their own ability more effectively.

Keywords: information; subjective expectations; academic ability; Bayesian updating; overconfidence; secondary education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D80 D83 D84 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2020-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published - published in: Journal of Econometrics, 2022, 231 (1), 58 - 73

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Related works:
Journal Article: Self-perceptions about academic achievement: Evidence from Mexico City (2022)
Working Paper: Self-Perceptions about Academic Achievement: Evidence from Mexico City (2020)
Working Paper: Self-Perceptions about Academic Achievement: Evidence from Mexico City (2020)
Working Paper: Self-Perceptions about Academic Achievement: Evidence from Mexico City (2020)
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