Work

The Impact of Peer Personality on Academic Achievement

Year: 2020

Type: article

Abstract: This paper provides evidence of a novel facet of peer effects by showing that peer personality influences academic achievement. We exploit random assignment of students to university sections and find that students perform better in the presence of persistent peers. The impact of peer persistence is enduring, as students exposed to persistent peers at the beginning of their studies continue to achieve higher grades in subsequent periods. The personality peer effects that we document are distinct from other observable peer characteristics and suggest that peer personality traits affect human capital accumulation.

Source: Journal of Political Economy

DOI: 10.1086/712638

Authors: Bart H. H. Golsteyn, Arjan Non, Ulf Zölitz

Institutions: Maastricht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Zurich

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek