{"type":"script","doc_desc":{"producers":[{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","abbr":"DECDI","affiliation":"World Bank - Development Impact Department","role":"Verification and preparation of metadata"}],"prod_date":"2026-04-30","version":"1"},"project_desc":{"authoring_entity":[{"name":"Oluchi Mbonu","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"ombonu@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Guthrie Gray-Lobe","affiliation":"The University of Chicago","email":"graylobe@uchicago.edu"},{"name":"Michael Kremer","affiliation":"The University of Chicago","email":"kremermr@uchicago.edu"},{"name":"Joost de Laat","affiliation":"Wageningen University & Research","email":"joost.delaat@wur.nl"},{"name":"Cole Scanlon","affiliation":"Fair Opportunity Project","email":"cole@fairopportunityproject.org"}],"title_statement":{"title":"Reproducibility package for Nudging Parents Out The Door: The Impacts Of Parental Encouragement On School Choice And Test Scores","idno":"RR_KEN_2026_635"},"data_statement":"Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, refer to the README file.","software":[{"name":"Stata","version":"19.0 MP"}],"scripts":[{"title":"Reproducibility package for Nudging Parents Out The Door: The Impacts Of Parental Encouragement On School Choice And Test Scores","date":"2026-04","notes":"Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.","instructions":"See README in reproducibility package.","file_name":"RR_KEN_2026_635","zip_package":"RR_KEN_2026_635.zip","dependencies":"Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder."}],"repository_uri":[{"name":"Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank)","uri":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org"}],"production_date":"2026-04-30","abstract":"This study evaluates a large-scale SMS outreach program to engage caregivers of students in private primary schools in Kenya. Using a two-stage randomization design, we tested two types of weekly SMS messages: growth-mindset encouragement and personalized performance information. We find two main effects: First, outreach improved test scores by 0.07 standard deviations, with particularly strong gains among initially lower-performing students. This improvement generates 12 learning-adjusted years of schooling per US$100 spent\u2014making it highly cost-effective relative to other education interventions. Second, outreach increased student exit rates by 4.7-5.0 percentage points, with effects concentrated among higher-achieving students (5.7 to 6.6 percentage points). We develop a theoretical model of vertically differentiated schools where parental engagement affects both learning production and school choice. The model shows that when parents update their understanding of education production through engagement programs, they become more sensitive to perceived school quality differences. This increased sensitivity can lead lower-quality schools to forgo implementing engagement programs\u2014even when costless\u2014as enhanced parental discernment accelerates student exits. Our findings suggest a role for third-party provision of parent engagement programs in competitive education markets.","geographic_units":[{"name":"Kenya","code":"KEN"}],"topics":[{"id":"D83","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Search \u2022 Learning \u2022 Information and Knowledge \u2022 Communication \u2022 Belief \u2022 Unawareness","parent_id":"D8"},{"id":" D91","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making","parent_id":"D9"},{"id":" I21","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Analysis of Education","parent_id":"I2"},{"id":" L15","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Information and Product Quality \u2022 Standardization and Compatibility","parent_id":"L1"},{"id":" O15","uri":"https:\/\/www.aeaweb.org\/econlit\/jelCodes.php?view=jel","vocabulary":"Journal of Economic Literature (JEL)","name":"Human Resources \u2022 Human Development \u2022 Income Distribution \u2022 Migration","parent_id":"O1"}],"output":[{"type":"Working Paper","description":"Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)","title":"Nudging Parents Out The Door: The Impacts Of Parental Encouragement On School Choice And Test Scores"}],"language":[{"name":"English","code":"EN"}],"technology_requirements":"Runtime: 5 minutes","disclaimer":"The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development\/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.","license":[{"name":"Modified BSD3","uri":"https:\/\/opensource.org\/license\/bsd-3-clause\/"}],"contacts":[{"name":"Oluchi Mbonu","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"ombonu@worldbank.org"},{"name":"Reproducibility WBG","affiliation":"World Bank","email":"reproducibility@worldbank.org"}],"technology_environment":"Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:\n\u2022 OS: macOS Tahoe\n\u2022 Processor: Apple M4 Pro\n\u2022 Memory available: 24 GB","datasets":[{"access_type":"Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners\/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.","name":"Kenya NewGlobe Education Record 2018-2020","note":"Source: NewGlobe\/Bridge. Education record data provided and anonymized by Bridge in 2019-2020. Restricted data. Requests can be directed to enquiries@newglobe.education.\nYears: 2018-2020.\nFile names: \nKE_C3_T3_COMBINED_ALL.csv; \nKE_C3_T12_HISTORICAL_ALL.csv; \nKE_C4_T1_ETE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C4_T1_MTE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C4_T2_ETE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C4_T2_MTE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C6_T3_COMBINED_ALL.csv; \nKE_C6_T12_HISTORICAL_ALL.csv; \nKE_C7_T1_ETE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C7_T2_ETE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C7_T1_MTE_ALL.csv; \nKE_C7_T2_MTE_ALL.csv;\nG3_G6_2018 pupils.csv; \nKE_academy_sms_c3_blinded.dta; \nKE_academy_sms_c6_blinded.dta; \nKE SMS Baseline Study_Blinded.csv; \nKE SMS Endline Study_Blinded.csv. \n\nFile location: Data\/Raw Data","license":"Custom license","citation":"NewGlobe. (2020). Kenya NewGlobe Education Record 2018-2020. [dataset]. Unpublished data. Access 2019"},{"note":"Source: Authors' compilation based on estimates from previous studies on the impacts of parental outreach on student performance. Years: 2014\u20132024. File name: sms_lit_review.xlsx. File location: Data\/Raw Data.","name":"Impacts of Parental Outreach on Student Performance","citation":"Authors' compilation. 2024. \"Impacts of parental outreach on student performance\" [dataset]. Compiled from published estimates on the impacts of parental outreach on student performance, 2014\u20132024.","license":"Custom license","access_type":"Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package."}],"reproduction_instructions":"To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:\n1. Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See the Datasets section for more details. \n2. Run the Package:\n     - Run the do-file `Master`.\n\nSince part of the original data cannot be redistributed, the package includes the outputs produced by the replicators, which can be used to review the results presented in the paper."},"datacite":{"creators":[{"givenName":"Oluchi","familyName":"Mbonu","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"World Bank"}]},{"givenName":"Guthrie","familyName":"Gray-Lobe","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Chicago"}]},{"givenName":"Michael","familyName":"Kremer","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Chicago"}]},{"givenName":"Joost de","familyName":"Laat","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Wageningen University & Research"}]},{"givenName":"Cole","familyName":"Scanlon","nameType":"Personal","affiliation":[{"name":"Fair Opportunity Project"}]}],"titles":[{"lang":"en","title":"Reproducibility package for Nudging Parents Out The Door: The Impacts Of Parental Encouragement On School Choice And Test Scores"},{"title":"RR_KEN_2026_635","titleType":"Other"}],"publisher":"World Bank","publicationYear":"2026","types":{"resourceType":"Reproducibility package","resourceTypeGeneral":"Other"},"url":"https:\/\/reproducibility.worldbank.org\/index.php\/catalog\/study\/RR_KEN_2026_635","language":"en"},"tags":[{"tag":"DOI"},{"tag":"Open Code"},{"tag":"Restricted Data"}],"schematype":"script"}