Abstract
We exploit a regression-discontinuity design to estimate peer effects on college students' attendance, using data from a classroom experiment, which required students who scored below a cut-off on the first midterm exam to attend subsequent classes. Since within a small interval around the cut-off, which side of the cut-off a student falls is randomly determined, so is the proportion of a student's classmates falling on one side of the cut-off in the same interval. Using this proportion to instrument peer attendance, we find that a one-point (out of ten) increase in classmates' average attendance score raises a student's attendance score by 0.7 points.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-10 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Economics Bulletin |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 2015 |