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Peer effects in higher education: A look at heterogeneous impacts

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  • Griffith, Amanda L.
  • Rask, Kevin N.

Abstract

This paper uses data on roommates from two different selective institutions to investigate the effect of peers on first-year performance, with a specific focus on the underlying mechanism. We compare measures of academic ability across student sub-groups by race, income, and gender, and across institutions. Male, minority, and aided students are affected most strongly by their peers. The size and presence of peer effects are dependent on the ability measure used as well as the setting. Standardized estimates suggest ability measured by high school grades have roughly twice the effect of ability measured by SATs. We also test the use of a standardized measure of first-year performance and find more consistent evidence of peer effects across both schools. Our results provide an explanation for the mixed findings in the literature and suggest that the driving force behind peer effects lies in the transfer of general academic know-how rather than in the teaching of specific knowledge or social proximity.

Suggested Citation

  • Griffith, Amanda L. & Rask, Kevin N., 2014. "Peer effects in higher education: A look at heterogeneous impacts," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 65-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:39:y:2014:i:c:p:65-77
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.01.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fischer, Thomas & Rode, Johannes, 2020. "Classroom or pub - Where are persistent peer relationships between university students formed?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 474-493.
    2. Humlum, Maria Knoth & Thorsager, Mette, 2021. "The Importance of Peer Quality for Completion of Higher Education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    3. Ritika Sethi, 2022. "Can Desegregation Close the Racial Gap in High School Coursework?," Papers 2208.12321, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    4. Patacchini, Eleonora & Rainone, Edoardo & Zenou, Yves, 2017. "Heterogeneous peer effects in education," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 190-227.
    5. Justin Burkett & Francis X. Flanagan & Amanda L. Griffith, 2018. "Allocating group housing," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 50(4), pages 581-596, April.
    6. Griffith, Amanda L. & Main, Joyce B., 2019. "First impressions in the classroom: How do class characteristics affect student grades and majors?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 125-137.
    7. repec:hig:wpaper:33edu2015 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Hill, Andrew J., 2017. "The positive influence of female college students on their male peers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 151-160.
    9. Oleg Poldin & Diliara Valeeva & Maria Yudkevich, 2016. "Which Peers Matter: How Social Ties Affect Peer-group Effects," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(4), pages 448-468, June.
    10. Lawrence Costa & JJ Naddeo, 2023. "How Do Students Value an Elite Education? Evidence on Residential Location and Applications to NYC Specialized Schools," FHFA Staff Working Papers 23-04, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
    11. Ben Ost & Weixiang Pan & Douglas A. Webber, 2023. "College Networks and Re-employment of Displaced Workers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-043, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Dong, Xiaoqi & Liang, Yinhe & Yu, Shuang, 2023. "Middle-achieving students are also my peers: The impact of peer effort on academic performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Alexandra de Gendre & Nicolás Salamanca, 2020. "On the Mechanisms of Ability Peer Effects," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2020n19, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    14. Dinarte Diaz,Lelys Ileana, 2020. "Peer Effects on Violence : Experimental Evidence from El Salvador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9187, The World Bank.
    15. Lépine, Andrea & Estevan, Fernanda, 2021. "Do ability peer effects matter for academic and labor market outcomes?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Boqiang Lin & Huanyu Jia, 2023. "The role of peers in promoting energy conservation among Chinese university students," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Ekaterina V. Krekhovets & Liudmila A. Leonova, 2016. "Social Ties of University Students: Evidence from a Longitudinal Survey in Russia," HSE Working papers WP BRP 33/EDU/2016, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    18. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2018. "Do migrant students affect local students’ academic achievements in urban China?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 64-77.
    19. O. Poldin & D. Valeeva & M. Yudkevich, 2015. "Choice of specialization: do peers matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(44), pages 4728-4740, September.
    20. Min, Shi & Yuan, Zhouhang & Wang, Xiaobing & Hou, Lingling, 2019. "Do peer effects influence the academic performance of rural students at private migrant schools in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 418-433.
    21. Oleg V. Poldin & Tania P. Simoes & Marcelo Knobel & Maria M. Yudkevich, 2015. "Estimation of Peer Effects with Predicted Social Ties: Evidence from Two Universities in Brazil and Russia," HSE Working papers WP BRP 30/EDU/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    22. Solomon, Keisha T. & Dasgupta, Kabir, 2022. "State mental health insurance parity laws and college educational outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    23. Patacchini, Eleonora & Hsieh, Chih-Sheng & Lin, Xu, 2019. "Social Interaction Methods," CEPR Discussion Papers 14141, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Peer effects; Analysis of education;

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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