Peer Effects and Social Mobility

Elisabeth Essbaumer ()

No 2401, Economics Working Paper Series from University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract: This paper analyzes peer effects at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland. The identification strategy relies on randomized student groups to investigate how graduates’ outcomes are affected by the social composition of their peer groups. The results indicate that a 10 percentage points higher share of peers with low socio-economic status (SES) leads to a 5.08% increase in graduates’ income one year after graduation. The effect is strongest on other low-SES students and functions through an adoption of job searching behavior, occupational choices and labor supply. I do not find evidence in this sample that the outcomes of low-SES students are negatively affected by high-SES peer exposure.

Keywords: peer effects; social mobility; human capital; educational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D64 I24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2024-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-inv, nep-lab, nep-net and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usg:econwp:2024:01

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