Working Paper: NBER ID: w14277
Authors: Matthew Neidell; Jane Waldfogel
Abstract: We examine peer effects in early education by estimating value added models with school fixed effects that control extensively for individual, family, peer, and teacher characteristics to account for the endogeneity of peer group formation. We find statistically significant and robust spillover effects from preschool on math and reading outcomes, but statistically insignificant effects on various behavioral and social outcomes. Of the behavioral and social effects explored, we find that peer externalizing problems, which most likely capture classroom disturbance, hinder cognitive outcomes. Our estimates imply that ignoring spillover effects significantly understates the social returns to preschool.
Keywords: peer effects; early education; cognitive outcomes; noncognitive outcomes; preschool enrollment
JEL Codes: I21; I28; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| peer enrollment in preschool (I24) | math scores (C12) |
| peer enrollment in preschool (I24) | reading scores (Y10) |
| peer enrollment in preschool (I24) | cognitive outcomes (D91) |
| peer externalizing problems (D62) | cognitive outcomes (D91) |
| spillover effects of peer enrollment in preschool (C92) | social returns to preschool (I26) |
| disruptive peers (C92) | academic performance (D29) |