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The influence of peer institutions on colleges’ decisions: Evidence from fall 2020 reopening plans

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  • Acton, Riley K.
  • Cook, Emily E.
  • Luedtke, Allison

Abstract

We study how colleges and universities influence each other’s behavior in the context of fall reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging high-frequency data on colleges’ reopening announcements and using a fixed-effects model to control for unobserved factors at the college and state-day levels, we provide evidence that colleges respond strongly to prior decisions made by their peer institutions. A 10 percentage point (pp) increase in the share of one’s peers who have announced an in-person plan —roughly equivalent to 2 additional peers announcing in-person plans —increases the probability of doing so by 2.5pp. An equivalent increase in the share of one’s peers who have announced an online decision increases the probability of doing so by 4.0pp. These effects are robust to a variety of specifications and definitions of peer institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Acton, Riley K. & Cook, Emily E. & Luedtke, Allison, 2022. "The influence of peer institutions on colleges’ decisions: Evidence from fall 2020 reopening plans," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 288-302.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:195:y:2022:i:c:p:288-302
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.01.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alvin Christian & Brian Jacob & John D. Singleton, 2022. "Assessing School District Decision-Making: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 30520, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Riley K. Acton & Wenjia Cao & Emily E. Cook & Scott A. Imberman & Michael F. Lovenheim, 2022. "The Effect of Vaccine Mandates on Disease Spread: Evidence from College COVID-19 Mandates," NBER Working Papers 30303, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Higher education; Peer institutions; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • L3 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise

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