Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/33598 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 2077
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We estimate peer effects for fourth graders in six European countries. The identification relies on variation across classes within schools. We argue that classes within primary schools are formed roughly randomly with respect to family background. Similar to previous studies, we find sizeable estimates of peer effects in standard OLS specifications. The size of the estimate is much reduced within schools. This could be explained either by selection into schools or by measurement error in the peer background variable. When we correct for measurement error we find within school estimates close to the original OLS estimates. Our results suggest that the peer effect is modestly large, measurement error is important in our survey data, and selection plays little role in biasing peer effects estimates. We find no significant evidence of non-linear peer effects.
Subjects: 
peer effects
measurement error
JEL: 
I21
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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