In Case You Were Wondering: Long-Term Peer Effects of Curiosity on Educational Attainment

Yiming Xia, Anwen Zhang, Weidong Wang and Ming Wen

No 1818, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: Curiosity motivates learning yet has rarely been studied in economics. Using random assignment to classrooms in the first year of middle school, we document persistent and long-term effects of peer curiosity that extend into early adulthood. A 10- percentage-point increase in the share of highly curious peers raises higher education enrollment by 4.7 percentage points after seven years, against a baseline rate of 68 percent, with gains concentrated in four-year bachelor's programs. Exploratory analyses point to higher aspirations, better time management, and greater parental investment as plausible mechanisms. These results suggest that curiosity generates lasting social returns.

Keywords: Curiosity; Peer Effects; Adolescents; Educational Attainment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I23 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1818

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