Project Details
Projekt
Which role do classmates play for own achievement growth? An empirical analysis of the transmission channels through which ability peer effects operate.
Applicant
Dr. David Kiss
Subject Area
Statistics and Econometrics
Term
from 2014 to 2019
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263948852
This grant proposal presents three research projects on transmission channels through which ability peer effects may operate. The term "ability peer effect" refers to the positive impact of peers' (or classmates') average achievement level on a student's own achievement growth. This relationship has been frequently observed in (quasi-)experimental studies. To date, however, there is little research on the mechanisms that drive the positive impact of peer achievement on own achievement growth. I intend to complement our knowledge about transmission channels by carrying out three research projects that make extensively use of NEPS-data. Such assessments may inform parents and policymakers how changes in the composition of classes affect achievement growth of different skill groups. The first research project investigates spillovers in learning effort among students. The existing scarce evidence suggest that peers' and own learning effort are complements, i.e., students tend to raise their learning effort as their peers become more ambitious. Using newly developed estimation methods that explicitly account for the reciprocity in effort choice, I plan to infer the relevance of effort spillovers from NEPS-data. The second project is an empirical assessment of predictions derived from a theoretical model. In the model, a student's achievement growth is determined by the interplay of two distinct transmission channels. The model presumes that increases in peer achievement (i) raise the extent of skill-externalities and (ii) induce teachers to lecture at a higher curricular pace. Consequently, the net impact on achievement growth depends on the interplay of these effects. This project requires panel data like NEPS because achievement growth can only be assessed if students are tested multiple times. The third research project investigates whether the negative impact of worse peers is attenuated by parental increases in school-related support. The few related studies suggest that the negative impact of decreases in teacher quality (or school funding) on achievement growth is reduced by parents who tend to raise their support. NEPS-data contain rich information on parental support like the extent of homework-related help or expenses on private tutoring. This allows to track parental responses to changes in peer achievement over time.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
