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"It Wasn’t Me, It Was Them!" Social Influence in Risky Behavior by Adolescents

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Author Info
Andrew E. Clark () (PSE (joint research unit CNRS-EHESS-ENPC-ENS), CNRS and IZA Bonn)
Youenn Lohéac (FLAVIC (INRA-Dijon and ENESAD) and TEAM (University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and CNRS))

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Abstract

Many years of concerted policy effort in Western countries has not prevented young people from experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana. One potential explanation is that social interactions make consumption "sticky". We use detailed panel data from the Add Health survey to examine risky behavior (the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana) by American adolescents. We find that, even controlling for school fixed effects, these behaviors are correlated with lagged peer group behavior. Peer group effects are strongest for alcohol use, and young males are more influential than young females. Last, we present some evidence of non-linearities in social interactions.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1573.

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Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2005
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1573

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Related research
Keywords: social interactions; smoking; drinking;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Joan Costa-Font & Mireia Jofre-Bonet, 2008. "Body Image and Food Disorders: Evidence from a Sample of European Women," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Adriaan R. Soetevent & Peter Kooreman, 2005. "Social ties within school classes –- the roles of gender, ethnicity, and having older siblings," Microeconomics 0505004, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald & Bert Van Landeghem, 2008. "Imitative Obesity and Relative Utility," NBER Working Papers 14337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Naci Mocan & Erdal Tekin & Lan Liang, . "Do Adolescents with Emotional or Behavioral Problems Respond to Cigarette Prices?," Departmental Working Papers 2008-06, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University. [Downloadable!]
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