This paper analyzes how temporary work assignments to poor areas affect preferences, beliefs, and career choices. We exploit random variation in the assignment of healthcare workers within a one-year mandatory rural service program in Peru. We show that healthcare workers that were assigned to poorer areas are more altruistic and more likely to work for the public sector after the program. We rule out alternative explanations like network or skill effects.

Patrick Agte is a sixth-year PhD student in economics at Princeton. He is interested in studying supply- and demand-side barriers to human capital accumulation. Prior to Princeton, he did his undergraduate studies in St. Gallen, Switzerland. He has ongoing work in India, Peru, Chile, and the Dominican Republic.