Order Effects and Teacher Labor Supply: A Nationwide RCT in Ecuador

We evaluate a nationwide zero-cost intervention to reduce teacher sorting, where lower-income students are more likely to attend understaffed schools with less qualified teachers. Our approach was grounded in an insight from behavioral economics known as order effects. In the treatment arm, the teacher job application platform showed hard-to-staff schools first, while, in the control group, schools were displayed alphabetically. Treated teachers were more likely to apply to hard-to-staff schools, ranking them their highest priority. Inattentive or less qualified teachers did not influence the results. The intervention helped to reduce the unequal distribution of qualified teachers across schools. (JEL D91, I23, I24, J28, J45, O15)