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Peer effects in the development of capabilities in adolescence

Author

Listed:
  • Ana I. Balsa

    (Universidad de Montevideo (Uruguay))

  • Nestor Gandelman

    (Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales. Departmento de Economía)

  • Flavia Roldán

    (Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales. Departmento de Economía)

Abstract

We estimate peer-effects in cognitive, non-cognitive and health-related outcomes in a sample of Uruguayan high-school students. Our identification strategy is based on two features of the data: (i)parents are not able to choose their child’s class within the school of their choice, and (ii)we observe outcomes over two points in time. We use school and grade fixed effects to avoid confounding peer influence with selection and exploit the longitudinal nature of the data to address Manski’s(1993) reflection problem. We find small but statistically significant peer-effects in academic grades(cognitive ability), in having shoplifted, being involved in a fight, and selfsatisfaction(proxies for non-cognitive abilities) and in symptoms of depression. The size of the peer-effects are of similar magnitude. We also find that popular students are less likely to be influenced by peers in terms of cognitive outcomes and that peer-effects in non-normative behavior (shoplifting) and depression are milder for students with higher levels of household education.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana I. Balsa & Nestor Gandelman & Flavia Roldán, 2015. "Peer effects in the development of capabilities in adolescence," Documentos de Investigación 104, Universidad ORT Uruguay. Facultad de Administración y Ciencias Sociales.
    • Handle: RePEc:avs:wpaper:104
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cognitive and non-cognitive ability; peer effects; adolescents; Uruguay;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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