Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives
We study the effect of temperature on students' performance and how changes in the incentives to study alter this impact in the context of high-school exit exams in Colombia. We show that temperature increases have a negative impact on exam scores, particularly among urban students. Conversely, rura...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Springer
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176439 |
| _version_ | 1855520917046689792 |
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| author | Martínez, Jose María Zuluaga, Victor Buritica, Alexander |
| author_browse | Buritica, Alexander Martínez, Jose María Zuluaga, Victor |
| author_facet | Martínez, Jose María Zuluaga, Victor Buritica, Alexander |
| author_sort | Martínez, Jose María |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We study the effect of temperature on students' performance and how changes in the incentives to study alter this impact in the context of high-school exit exams in Colombia. We show that temperature increases have a negative impact on exam scores, particularly among urban students. Conversely, rural students exhibit slightly positive effects. Leveraging time-use data, we find evidence of individuals in rural areas responding to increases in temperature by reallocating time towards off-farm activities, which are human capital intensive. Additionally, the announcement of a national scholarship program, which introduced exogenous variation in exam stakes, reveals that heightened student effort exacerbates the temperature's impact on scores. In particular, an interquartile change in the exposure to this program increases the impact of temperature on exam scores by 11.9%. This underscores the intricate relationship between incentive-based policies and the challenge of rising temperatures. As global temperatures continue to rise, understanding this dynamic is crucial for informing effective educational policy. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace176439 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1764392025-11-11T17:46:09Z Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives Martínez, Jose María Zuluaga, Victor Buritica, Alexander evaluation climate change adaptation temperature human capital We study the effect of temperature on students' performance and how changes in the incentives to study alter this impact in the context of high-school exit exams in Colombia. We show that temperature increases have a negative impact on exam scores, particularly among urban students. Conversely, rural students exhibit slightly positive effects. Leveraging time-use data, we find evidence of individuals in rural areas responding to increases in temperature by reallocating time towards off-farm activities, which are human capital intensive. Additionally, the announcement of a national scholarship program, which introduced exogenous variation in exam stakes, reveals that heightened student effort exacerbates the temperature's impact on scores. In particular, an interquartile change in the exposure to this program increases the impact of temperature on exam scores by 11.9%. This underscores the intricate relationship between incentive-based policies and the challenge of rising temperatures. As global temperatures continue to rise, understanding this dynamic is crucial for informing effective educational policy. 2025-09 2025-09-10T14:22:42Z 2025-09-10T14:22:42Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176439 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Martínez, J.M.; Zuluaga, V.; Buritica, A. (2025) Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives. Environmental and Resource Economics 88: p. 2429–2467. ISSN: 0924-6460 |
| spellingShingle | evaluation climate change adaptation temperature human capital Martínez, Jose María Zuluaga, Victor Buritica, Alexander Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title | Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title_full | Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title_fullStr | Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title_short | Sweating bullets: Heat, high-stakes evaluations, and the role of incentives |
| title_sort | sweating bullets heat high stakes evaluations and the role of incentives |
| topic | evaluation climate change adaptation temperature human capital |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176439 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT martinezjosemaria sweatingbulletsheathighstakesevaluationsandtheroleofincentives AT zuluagavictor sweatingbulletsheathighstakesevaluationsandtheroleofincentives AT buriticaalexander sweatingbulletsheathighstakesevaluationsandtheroleofincentives |