The Long-Run Effects of Peers on Mental Health

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kiessling, Lukas; Norris, Jonathan
• 署名单位: Max Planck Society; University of Strathclyde
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueac039
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 281-322
• 关键词: outcomes evidence; adolescent depression; maimonides rule; class size; disorders; rank; performance; feedback; impacts; scale

摘要

This paper studies how peers in school affect students' mental health. Guided by a theoretical framework, we find that increasing students' relative ranks in their cohorts by one standard deviation improves their mental health by 6% of a standard deviation conditional on own ability. These effects are more pronounced for low-ability students, persistent for at least 14 years and carry over to economic long-run outcomes. Moreover, we document a pronounced asymmetry: Students who receive negative rather than positive shocks react more strongly. Our findings therefore provide evidence on how the school environment can have long-lasting consequences for individuals' well-being.