Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161297 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10674
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We randomly assign more than 6,000 students from 150 primary schools in Bangladesh to work on math assignments in one of three settings: individually, in groups with random schoolmates, or in groups with friends. The groups consist of four people and are balanced by average cognitive ability and ability distribution. While the achievement of male students is not affected by the group assignment, low-ability females assigned to groups outperform low-ability females working individually. The treatment is particularly effective when low-ability females study with friends. To rule out sorting effects, we show that random groups with identical compositions to those of friendship groups do not produce similar effects. Our study thus documents that placing students into study groups with their friends may improve learning, especially for low-ability females.
Subjects: 
social interactions
education
gender
learning
friendship
JEL: 
I25
J16
O12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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