Rank, Sex, Drugs, and Crime

Benjamin Elsner and Ingo Isphording

No 9478, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: In this paper we show that a student's ordinal rank in a high school cohort is an important determinant of engaging in risky behaviors. Using longitudinal data from representative US high schools, and exploiting idiosyncratic variation in the cohort composition within a school, we find a strong negative effect of a student's rank on the likelihood of smoking, drinking, having unprotected sex, and engaging in physical fights. We further provide suggestive evidence that these results are driven by status concerns and differences in career expectations.

Keywords: beliefs; peer effects; ability rank; risky behavior; expectations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I14 I21 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published - published in: Journal of Human Resources, 2018, 53(2), 356-381

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Journal Article: Rank, Sex, Drugs, and Crime (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9478

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