Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/124990 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9478
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
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.
Subjects: 
risky behavior
ability rank
peer effects
beliefs
expectations
JEL: 
I12
I14
I21
I24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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