Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/124966 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9448
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper estimates peer effects in a university context where students are randomly assigned to sections. While students benefit from better peers on average, low-achieving students are harmed by high-achieving peers. Analyzing students' course evaluations suggests that peer effects are driven by improved group interaction rather than adjustments in teachers' behavior or students' effort. We further show, building on Angrist (2014), that classical measurement error in a setting where group assignment is systematic can lead to substantial overestimation of peer effects. With random assignment, as is the case in our setting, estimates are only attenuated.
Subjects: 
estimation bias
measurement error
higher education
peer effects
JEL: 
I21
I24
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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