Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence From a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement

Timothy Conley, Nirav Mehta, Todd Stinebrickner () and Ralph Stinebrickner ()
Additional contact information
Todd Stinebrickner: Western University
Ralph Stinebrickner: University of Western Ontario

No 2017-042, Working Papers from Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group

Abstract: We develop and estimate a model of study time choices of students on a social network. The model is designed to exploit unique data collected in the Berea Panel Study. Study time data allow us to quantify an intuitive mechanism for academic social interactions: own study time may depend on friend study time. Social network data allow study time choices and resulting academic achievement to be embedded in an estimable equilibrium framework. New data on study propensities allow us to directly address potential sorting into friendships based on typically unobserved determinants of study time. We develop a specifi cation test that exploits the equilibrium nature of social interactions and use it to show that our study propensity measures substantially address endogeneity concerns. We find friend study time strongly affects own study time, and, therefore, student achievement. We examine how network structure interacts with student characteristics to affect academic achievement. Sorting on friend characteristics appears important in explaining variation across students in study time and achievement, and determines the aggregate achievement level.

Keywords: social networks; peer effects; homophily; time-use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H00 I20 J00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-net, nep-soc and nep-ure
Note: M
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Conley ... tions-study-time.pdf First version, May 18, 2017 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement (2024)
Working Paper: Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement (2018)
Working Paper: Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement (2017)
Working Paper: Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement (2015)
Working Paper: How social interactions determine input choices and outcomes in equilibrium: Evidence from a model of study time and academic achievement (2015)
Working Paper: Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement (2015)
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