Social Interactions, Mechanisms, and Equilibrium: Evidence from a Model of Study Time and Academic Achievement

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2024
Volume: 132
Issue: 3
Pages: 824 - 866

Authors (4)

Timothy G. Conley (not in RePEc) Nirav Mehta (University of Western Ontario) Ralph Stinebrickner (not in RePEc) Todd Stinebrickner (University of Western Ontario)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We develop and estimate a model of student study time choices on a social network. The model is designed to exploit unique data in the Berea Panel Study. Study time data allow us to quantify an intuitive mechanism for academic social interactions: own study time may depend on friend study time in a heterogeneous manner. Social network data allow us to embed study time and resulting academic achievement in an estimable equilibrium framework. We develop a specification test that exploits the equilibrium nature of social interactions and use it to show that novel study propensity measures mitigate econometric endogeneity concerns.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/726902
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25