IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v143y2025ics0264999324003249.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of student's ordinal cognitive ability rank on school violence: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Liping
  • Lin, Jiada
  • Wang, Zhifeng
  • Wu, Guansheng

Abstract

School violence can exert immediate and enduring effects on the human capital development of students. Despite extensive discussions on the causes of school violence, the role of peer effects has been underexplored in the literature. To fill this gap, this paper examines the effect of cognitive ability rankings on students' propensity for committing school violence. We select schools that randomly assign students to classes to mitigate selection biases and identify the causal effects. Our findings show that improving a student's rank from the lowest to the highest reduces school violence by 0.5 standard deviations. A mechanism is the higher opportunity cost for students with a high cognitive ability rank. We also find that high-ranking students are more likely to stay with high-quality peers.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Liping & Lin, Jiada & Wang, Zhifeng & Wu, Guansheng, 2025. "The impact of student's ordinal cognitive ability rank on school violence: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:143:y:2025:i:c:s0264999324003249
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2024.106967
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999324003249
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2024.106967?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elizabeth U. Cascio & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2016. "First in the Class? Age and the Education Production Function," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 11(3), pages 225-250, Summer.
    2. Christopher Blattman & Julian C. Jamison & Margaret Sheridan, 2017. "Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(4), pages 1165-1206, April.
    3. David Marmaros & Bruce Sacerdote, 2006. "How Do Friendships Form?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 79-119.
    4. Comi, Simona & Origo, Federica & Pagani, Laura & Tonello, Marco, 2021. "Last and furious: Relative position and school violence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 736-756.
    5. Daniela Del Boca & Christopher Flinn & Matthew Wiswall, 2014. "Household Choices and Child Development," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(1), pages 137-185.
    6. Benjamin Elsner & Ingo E Isphording & Ulf Zölitz, 2021. "Achievement Rank Affects Performance and Major Choices in College [Gender, competitiveness, and socialization at a young age: evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(640), pages 3182-3206.
    7. Richard Murphy & Felix Weinhardt, 2020. "Top of the Class: The Importance of Ordinal Rank," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(6), pages 2777-2826.
    8. Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2005. "Neighbors as Negatives: Relative Earnings and Well-Being," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 963-1002.
    9. Huang, Wei & Li, Teng & Pan, Yinghao & Ren, Jinyang, 2023. "Teacher characteristics and student performance: Evidence from random teacher-student assignments in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 747-781.
    10. Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Zhang, Yi, 2024. "How good am I? Effects and mechanisms behind salient rank," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    11. Ziteng Lei, 2022. "Short-run and long-run effects of peers from disrupted families," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 1007-1036, July.
    12. Jan Bietenbeck, 2020. "The Long-Term Impacts of Low-Achieving Childhood Peers: Evidence from Project STAR," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 392-426.
    13. Benjamin Elsner & Ingo E. Isphording, 2017. "A Big Fish in a Small Pond: Ability Rank and Human Capital Investment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 787-828.
    14. Adam S. Booij & Edwin Leuven & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2017. "Ability Peer Effects in University: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 84(2), pages 547-578.
    15. Bin Huang & Rong Zhu, 2020. "Peer effects of low-ability students in the classroom: evidence from China’s middle schools," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1343-1380, October.
    16. Fangwen Lu & Michael L. Anderson, 2015. "Peer Effects in Microenvironments: The Benefits of Homogeneous Classroom Groups," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 91-122.
    17. David Card & Alexandre Mas & Enrico Moretti & Emmanuel Saez, 2012. "Inequality at Work: The Effect of Peer Salaries on Job Satisfaction," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2981-3003, October.
    18. Jie Gong & Yi Lu & Hong Song, 2021. "Gender Peer Effects on Students’ Academic and Noncognitive Outcomes: Evidence and Mechanisms," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(3), pages 686-710.
    19. Steve Cicala & Roland G. Fryer & Jörg L. Spenkuch, 2018. "Self-Selection and Comparative Advantage in Social Interactions," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 983-1020.
    20. Pan, Zheng & Lien, Donald & Wang, Hao, 2022. "Peer effects and shadow education," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    21. Bertoni, Marco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2023. "Ordinal rank and the structure of ability peer effects," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    22. Benjamin Elsner & Ingo E. Isphording, 2018. "Rank, Sex, Drugs, and Crime," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(2), pages 356-381.
    23. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl, 2008. "Bullying, education and earnings: Evidence from the National Child Development Study," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 387-401, August.
    24. Wang, Haining & Zhu, Rong, 2021. "Social spillovers of China’s left-behind children in the classroom," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    25. Diane Alexander & Hannes Schwandt, 2022. "The Impact of Car Pollution on Infant and Child Health: Evidence from Emissions Cheating," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(6), pages 2872-2910.
    26. 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.
    27. Yu, Han, 2020. "Am I the big fish? The effect of ordinal rank on student academic performance in middle school," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 18-41.
    28. Hoeschler, Peter & Balestra, Simone & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2018. "The development of non-cognitive skills in adolescence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 40-45.
    29. Zhou, Weina & Wang, Shun, 2023. "Early childhood health shocks, classroom environment, and social-emotional outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    30. Bruce Sacerdote, 2001. "Peer Effects with Random Assignment: Results for Dartmouth Roommates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(2), pages 681-704.
    31. Pervez Zammurad Janjua & Usman Ahmad Kamal, 2011. "The Role of Education and Income in Poverty Alleviation: A Cross-Country Analysis," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 143-172, Jan-Jun.
    32. Laura Pagani & Simona Comi & Federica Origo, 2021. "The Effect of School Rank on Personality Traits," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(4), pages 1187-1225.
    33. Cristian Pop-Eleches & Miguel Urquiola, 2013. "Going to a Better School: Effects and Behavioral Responses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(4), pages 1289-1324, June.
    34. Jie Gong & Yi Lu & Hong Song, 2018. "The Effect of Teacher Gender on Students’ Academic and Noncognitive Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 743-778.
    35. Victor Lavy & Olmo Silva & Felix Weinhardt, 2012. "The Good, the Bad, and the Average: Evidence on Ability Peer Effects in Schools," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 367-414.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Zhang, Yi, 2024. "How good am I? Effects and mechanisms behind salient rank," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Inoue, Atsushi & Tanaka, Ryuichi, 2024. "The rank of socioeconomic status within a class and the incidence of school bullying and school absence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. Rigissa Megalokonomou & Yi Zhang, 2022. "How Good Am I? Effects and Mechanisms behind Salient Ranks," CESifo Working Paper Series 9991, CESifo.
    4. Jeffrey T. Denning & Richard Murphy & Felix Weinhardt, 2023. "Class Rank and Long-Run Outcomes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1426-1441, November.
    5. Rigissa Megalokonomou & Yi Zhang, 2023. "How Good Am I? Effects and Mechanisms Behind Salient Rank," Monash Economics Working Papers 2023-07, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    6. Bertoni, Marco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2023. "Ordinal rank and the structure of ability peer effects," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    7. Yu, Han, 2020. "Am I the big fish? The effect of ordinal rank on student academic performance in middle school," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 18-41.
    8. Goller, Daniel & Diem, Andrea & Wolter, Stefan C., 2023. "Sitting next to a dropout: Academic success of students with more educated peers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    9. 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).
    10. Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa, 2021. "The best in the class," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    11. Pedro Carneiro & Yyannu Cruz-Aguayo & Francesca Salvati & Norbert Schady, 2025. "The Effect of Classroom Rank on Learning throughout Elementary School: Experimental Evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 433-466.
    12. Richard Murphy & Felix Weinhardt, 2020. "Top of the Class: The Importance of Ordinal Rank," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(6), pages 2777-2826.
    13. Ashby, Nathan J., 2023. "An examination of peer effects using high school competition realignments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 122-135.
    14. Delaney, Judith & Devereux, Paul J., 2022. "Rank Effects in Education: What do we know so far?," CEPR Discussion Papers 17090, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Ribas, Rafael P. & Sampaio, Breno & Trevisan, Giuseppe, 2020. "Short- and long-term effects of class assignment: Evidence from a flagship university in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Chesney, Alexander J. & Carrell, Scott E., 2024. "Brains versus brawn: Ordinal rank effects in job training," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    17. Luo, Yiyang & Yang, Songtao, 2023. "Gender peer effects on students’ educational and occupational expectations," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Bertoni, Marco & Nistico, Roberto, 2019. "Ordinal Rank and Peer Composition: Two Sides of the Same Coin?," IZA Discussion Papers 12789, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Comi, Simona & Origo, Federica & Pagani, Laura & Tonello, Marco, 2021. "Last and furious: Relative position and school violence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 736-756.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cognitive ability rank; School violence; Opportunity cost;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:143:y:2025:i:c:s0264999324003249. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.