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Peer Gender and Schooling: Evidence from Ethiopia

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  • Borbely, Daniel

    (University of Dundee)

  • Norris, Jonathan

    (University of Strathclyde)

  • Romiti, Agnese

    (University of Strathclyde)

Abstract

In this paper, we study how classmate gender composition matters for students in Ethiopia. We base our results on a unique survey of students across classrooms and schools and among those randomly assigned to class. We find a strong asymmetry: males do not and females do benefit from exposure to more female classmates with less school absence and improvement on math test scores. We further find that exposure to more female classmates improves motivation and participation in class, and in general, that the effects of classmate gender composition are consistent with social interaction effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Borbely, Daniel & Norris, Jonathan & Romiti, Agnese, 2021. "Peer Gender and Schooling: Evidence from Ethiopia," IZA Discussion Papers 14439, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14439
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    Cited by:

    1. Getik, Demid & Meier, Armando N., 2021. "Early Socialization and the Gender Wage Gap," Working Papers 2021:13, Lund University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    peer effects; gender; school performance; Ethiopia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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