Date and Location: Monday, November 11, 2024, at 4:00 PM, conducted online, organised by Maria Nareklishvili.
Speaker: Dr. Emil Palikot is currently an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University. His research interests lie in the economics of digitalization, online platforms, experimental economics, and machine learning applications in economics. He previously was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
Key Highlights of the Talk: The topic of the presentation was the labor market value of the online credentials obtained from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and shared on business networking platforms. The experiment focuses on over 800,000 Coursera learners, primarily from developing countries and without college degrees, who completed technology or business-related courses between September 2022 and March 2023. The intervention, conducted by Emil Palikot jointly with Susan Athey, aimed to encourage learners to share their credentials on Linked In by simplifying the sharing process. Key outcomes measured after one year included credential-sharing rates, employment status, and job relevance to certificates. The authors find:
● A 17-percentage-point increase in credential sharing among the treated group
● A 6% higher likelihood of reporting new employment and an 8% increase in certificate-relevant jobs in the treatment group.
● Positive effects were stronger for Linked In users with lower baseline employability.
● Increased profile engagement, as indicated by higher certificate view counts.
This research illustrates the power of digital platforms in enhancing labor market outcomes, especially for individuals from developing regions. It emphasizes the role of digital credential-sharing as a cost-effective intervention to improve employment prospects. Beyond the benefits of online credentials, we learn that statistical analysis combined with large-scale experiments can inform decision-makers in tech about targeting online courses and tools to the relevant groups of the users. The talk also highlighted the benefits of recommender systems in tech and personalizing content, such as online courses and tools, to increase the engagement and reach the relevant users.