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The Role of Social Networks and Peer Effects in Education Transmission

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  • Sebastian Bervoets

    (GREQAM - Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Antoni Calvó-Armengol

    (UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)

  • Yves Zenou

    (Stockholm University)

Abstract

We propose a dynastic model in which individuals are born in an educated or uneducated environment that they inherit from their parents. We study the role of social networks on the correlation in the parent-child educational status independent of any parent-child interaction. We show that the network reduces the intergenerational correlation, promotes social mobility and increases the average education level in the population. We also show that a planner that encourages social mobility also reduces social welfare, hence facing a trade off between these two objectives. When individuals choose the optimal level of social mobility, those born in an uneducated environment always want to leave their environment while the reverse occurs for individuals born in an educated environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Bervoets & Antoni Calvó-Armengol & Yves Zenou, 2012. "The Role of Social Networks and Peer Effects in Education Transmission," Working Papers halshs-00793169, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00793169
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00793169
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational correlation; Social mobility; strong and weak ties; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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