NEIGHBORHOOD PEER EFFECTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT DECISIONS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bobonis, Gustavo J.; Finan, Frederico
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest.91.4.695
• 发表日期: 2009-11
• 页码: 695-716
• 关键词: social interactions; progresa; IMPACT; POOR; education; selection; outcomes; LESSONS; HEALTH

摘要

This paper identifies neighborhood peer effects on children's school enrollment decisions using experimental evidence from the Mexican PROGRESA program. We use exogenous variation in the school participation of program-eligible children to identify peer effects on the schooling decisions of ineligible children residing in treatment communities. We find that peers have considerable influence on the enrollment decisions of program-ineligible children, and these effects are concentrated among children from poorer households. These findings imply that policies aimed at encouraging enrollment can produce large social multiplier effects.