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Do ability peer effects matter for academic and labor market outcomes?

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  • Lépine, Andrea
  • Estevan, Fernanda

Abstract

We follow students majoring in Economics, Business, and Accounting in a prestigious Brazilian university up to 15 years after admission to estimate the effects of peer ability on academic and labor market outcomes. We exploit the variation in cohorts’ composition across time and students’ exogenous allocation across classrooms to deal with selection issues. Our results suggest that peer ability does not significantly affect students’ short-term academic outcomes but has positive long-term impacts on formal labor market participation and the decision to enroll in graduate studies. Our findings suggest that peers in young adulthood may have a more considerable influence on behaviors than on short-term academic outcomes.

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  • Lépine, Andrea & Estevan, Fernanda, 2021. "Do ability peer effects matter for academic and labor market outcomes?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:71:y:2021:i:c:s0927537121000579
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102022
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Peer effects; Higher education; University; Labor market; Graduate studies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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