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China’s Only Children and Their Spillover Effects on Academic Performance in the Classroom

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  • Wang Haining

    (School of Government, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China)

  • Zhu Rong

    (College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia)

Abstract

This paper examines the causal effect of students who are the only child in their family on the academic performance of their classmates, exploiting the random assignment of students to classes within schools in China. We find that a higher proportion of classmates as the only child in their family improves the academic outcomes of students in the same classroom. We also find evidence of positive but heterogeneous peer effects by student and class characteristics. Our findings suggest that the academic performance of Chinese students has benefited indirectly from the one-child policy because of this positive peer influence within the classroom.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang Haining & Zhu Rong, 2019. "China’s Only Children and Their Spillover Effects on Academic Performance in the Classroom," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(4), pages 1-10, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:19:y:2019:i:4:p:10:n:9
    DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2019-0058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Feng, Shuaizhang & Kim, Jun Hyung & Yang, Zhe, 2021. "Effects of Childhood Peers on Personality Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 14952, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Guo, Yuhe & Li, Shaoping & Chen, Siwei & Tang, Yalin & Liu, Chengfang, 2022. "Health benefits of having more female classmates: Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    only child in the family; academic achievement; peer effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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