Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/250467 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14806
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper exploits student-level administrative data on the population of Italian university students from 2006 to 2014 to analyze the effects of high performing (HP) male or female peers on individual academic performance, according to the gender of the student. The identification strategy is based on quasi-random variation in the exposure to HP peers across cohorts, within the same university and the same degree program. The impact of HP students, proxied by their high school final grade, is heterogeneous. We found that female HP peers have stronger positive effects than HP males, in particular with peers of the same gender. Moreover, there is evidence that the exposure to HP males can be even negative, especially for female students in competitive environments, such as the STEM fields, and for low ability students of both genders.
Subjects: 
human capital
higher education
university performance
gender
peers
JEL: 
I22
I23
C21
C35
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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