Understanding peer effects: On the nature, estimation, and channels of peer effects

This paper estimates peer effects in a university context where students are randomly assigned to sections. While students benefit from better peers on average, low-achieving students are harmed by high-achieving peers. Analyzing students’ course evaluations suggests that peer effects are driven by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of labor economics 2017-04, Vol.35 (2), p.387-428
Main Authors: Feld, Jan, Zölitz, Ulf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement gaps
Auswahlverfahren
E-Learning
Estimation bias
Gemeinschaft
Group dynamics
Gruppendynamik
Hochschulbildung
Leistungsbeurteilung
Lernen
Lernerfolg
Niederlande
Peer Group
Peer groups
Peers
Quantitative psychology
Soziale Gruppe
Soziale Identität
Sozialer Wert
Soziales System
Student
Student behavior
Students
Studienerfolg
Studies
Test
Wirkungsforschung
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Summary:This paper estimates peer effects in a university context where students are randomly assigned to sections. While students benefit from better peers on average, low-achieving students are harmed by high-achieving peers. Analyzing students’ course evaluations suggests that peer effects are driven by improved group interaction rather than adjustments in teachers’ behavior or students’ effort. Building on Angrist’s research, we further show that classical measurement error in a setting where group assignment is systematic can lead to a substantial overestimation of peer effects. However, when group assignment is random—like in our setting—peer effect estimates are biased toward zero.
ISSN:0734-306X
1537-5307
DOI:10.1086/689472