Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP5816
Authors: Alejandra Cattaneo; Rafael Lalive
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study whether schooling choices are affected by social interactions. Such social interactions may be important because children enjoy spending time with other children or parents learn from other parents about the ability of their children. Identification is based on a randomized intervention that grants a cash subsidy encouraging school attendance among a sub-group of eligible children within small rural villages in Mexico. Results indicate that (i) the eligible children tend to attend school more frequently, (ii) but also the neligible children acquire more schooling when the subsidy is introduced in their local village, (iii) social interactions are economically important, and (iv) they may arise due to changes in parents? perception of their children?s ability.
Keywords: Field experiment; Peer effects; Progresa; Schooling
JEL Codes: C93; I21; I28
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| eligible children school attendance (I21) | ineligible children school attendance (I24) |
| parents' perceptions of children's abilities (G53) | schooling decisions (I21) |
| Progresa program (H53) | eligible children school attendance (I21) |
| Progresa program (H53) | ineligible children school attendance (I24) |
| Progresa program (H53) | parents' perceptions of children's abilities (G53) |