Working Paper: NBER ID: w16598
Authors: C. Kirabo Jackson
Abstract: Using exogenous secondary school assignments to remove self-selection bias to schools and peers within schools, I credibly estimate both (1) the effect of attending schools with higher-achieving peers, and (2) the direct effect of short-run peer quality improvements within schools, on the same population. While students at schools with higher-achieving peers have better academic achievement, within-school short-run increases in peer achievement improve outcomes only at high-achievement schools. Short-run (direct) peer quality accounts for only one tenth of school value-added on average, but at least one-third among the most selective schools. There are large and important differences by gender.
Keywords: Selective Schools; Peer Quality; Education Outcomes; Trinidad and Tobago
JEL Codes: H0; I2; J0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Attending schools with higher-achieving peers (I23) | better academic outcomes (I24) |
| Increases in peer achievement within schools (I24) | outcomes (P47) |
| Increases in mean peer achievement across schools (I24) | larger effect on outcomes than increases in mean peer achievement within schools (C92) |
| Attending selective schools (I23) | females benefit more than males (J16) |
| Increases in peer achievement within schools (I24) | females benefit more than males (J16) |