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Enrolling at university and the social influence of peers

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  • Pistolesi Nicolas

    (Universite Toulouse 1 Capitole Toulouse (Toulouse School of Economics), France)

Abstract

This article studies peer effects on the decision to enroll at university. To determine the social influence of peers, we use a measure encompassing the two major dimensions of social influence in the classroom: the ability and capacity of peers to exchange information about study options. This paper uses French administrative data on the universe of first year applicants to a single university over seven consecutive cohorts. We exploit idiosyncratic variations in the proportion of peers advised to change their educational choice. We find that our variable of interest has a small but negative and significant effect on the individual decision to attend university and observe stronger peer effects among groups of students of similar gender or socio-economic background. We also find a weaker impact of the proportion of peers advised to change their educational choice on the individuals of higher level of academic ability.

Suggested Citation

  • Pistolesi Nicolas, 2022. "Enrolling at university and the social influence of peers," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:izajle:v:11:y:2022:i:1:p:26:n:1
    DOI: 10.2478/izajole-2022-0001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    peer effects; higher education; university enrollment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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