Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9804
Authors: Eleonora Patacchini; Edoardo Rainone; Yves Zenou
Abstract: We develop a network model looking at the role of different types of peers in education. The empirical salience of the model is tested using a very detailed longitudinal dataset of adolescent friendship networks. We find that there are strong and persistent peer effects in education but peers tend to be influential only when their friendships last more than a year and not a shorter period of time. In the short run, however, both types of ties have an impact on current grades.
Keywords: Education; Efficient; 2SLS estimation; Long-term peer effects; Social networks; Spatial autoregressive model
JEL Codes: C31; D85; I21; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Educational choices of long-lived ties (I21) | Individual educational outcomes (I21) |
| Educational choices of short-lived ties (I21) | Individual educational outcomes (I21) |
| Quality of friends in terms of future educational achievement (I24) | One's own education level (I24) |
| Stable friendships (C62) | Establishment of social norms around education (I24) |