It's not your peers, and it's not your friends: Some progress toward understanding the educational peer effect mechanism

Foster, Gigi

doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2005.12.001

Cited by 207 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

137

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…4 One set of papers uses proxy variables to break the link between unobserved and peer ability (Arcidiacono and Nicholson (2005), Hanushek, Kain, Markman, and Rivkin (2003), and Betts and Morell (1999)). Another set of papers relies on some form of random assignment (Sacerdote (2001), Zimmerman (2003), Winston and Zimmerman (2003), Foster (2006), Lehrer and Ding (2007), Carrell and Hoekstra (2010), Carrell, Fullerton, andWest (2009), Carrell, West, andMalmstrom (2008), and Hoxby (2001)). Finally, researchers have tried to circumvent the endogeneity problem with instrumental variables (Evans, Oates, and Schwab (1992)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating spillovers using panel data, with an application to the classroom

Arcidiacono

Foster

Goodpaster

et al. 2012

Quantitative Economics

Self Cite

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Obtaining consistent estimates of spillovers in an educational context is hampered by at least two issues: selection into peer groups and peer effects emanating from unobservable characteristics. We develop an algorithm for estimating spillovers using panel data that addresses both of these problems. The key innovation is to allow the spillover to operate through the fixed effects of a student's peers. The only data requirements are multiple outcomes per student and heterogeneity in the peer group over time. We first show that the nonlinear least squares estimate of the spillover parameter is consistent and asymptotically normal for a fixed T . We then provide an iterative estimation algorithm that is easy to implement and converges to the nonlinear least squares solution. Using University of Maryland transcript data, we find statistically significant peer effects on course grades, particularly in courses of a collaborative nature. We compare our method with traditional approaches to the estimation of peer effects, and quantify separately the biases associated with selection and spillovers through peer unobservables.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating spillovers using panel data, with an application to the classroom

Arcidiacono

Foster

Goodpaster

et al. 2012

Quantitative Economics

Self Cite

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, due to difficulties in measuring peer influence, there is a relatively small body of direct credible evidence of peer effects (see Sacerdote 2001;Zimmerman 2003;Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner 2006;Hoxby and Weingarth 2006). In fact, the most recently published research has drawn into question the very existence of peer effects in higher education (Foster 2006;Lyle 2007). Even less is known about the potential mechanisms that may drive peer influence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Effects in Academic Cheating

Carrell¹,

Malmstrom²,

West³

2008

J. Human Resources

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tUsing self-reported academic cheating from the classes of 1959 through 2002 at the three major United States military service academies (Air Force, Army, and Navy), we measure how peer cheating influences individual cheating behavior. We find higher levels of peer cheating result in a substantially increased probability that an individual will cheat. One additional college student who cheated in high school drives approximately 0.33 to 0.47 additional college students to cheat. One additional college cheater drives approximately 0.61 to 0.75 additional college students to cheat. These results imply, in equilibrium, the social multiplier for academic cheating is approximately three.

show abstract

“…More specifically, such quasi-experimental studies exploit the randomised trials generated by the chance matching of students with first-year roommates in college accommodation (see, among others, Sacerdote, 2001;Foster, 2006;Brunello, De Paola and Scoppa, 2010), changes in student distribution criteria (Hoxby and Weingrath, 2006) or class assignment on the basis of surname during first-year university courses . Albeit randomised trials based evidence appear to be the most convincing in terms of internal validity, these experiences are relatively scarce and some authors pointed out the lack of external validity of such estimates because of the peculiarity of the samples used (and the different realities they reflect).…”

Section: Selected Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

School Composition Effects in Spain: Accounting for Interceptand Slope Effects

Paolo¹,

Mendizábal²

2014

HPE-RPE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryDrawing on PISA 2012 data, in this paper we study the impact of school's socio-economic composition on the science test scores for Spanish lower-secondary education students. We adopt a semi-parametric methodology that enables spillovers to affect all the parameters in the educational production function. We also deal with the issue of endogenous students' sorting into schools with better socioeconomic composition. The positive effect of school's socio-economic composition is stronger when computed using the semi-parametric approach, suggesting the relevance of slope effects of school composition. However, the spillovers are substantially reduced when the endogenous sorting of students is controlled for.

show abstract

It's not your peers, and it's not your friends: Some progress toward understanding the educational peer effect mechanism

Cited by 207 publications

References 10 publications

Estimating spillovers using panel data, with an application to the classroom

Estimating spillovers using panel data, with an application to the classroom

Peer Effects in Academic Cheating

School Composition Effects in Spain: Accounting for Interceptand Slope Effects

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About