It Takes a Village: The Economics of Parenting with Neighborhood and Peer Effects

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2026
Volume: 134
Issue: 1
Pages: 313 - 365

Authors (4)

Francesco Agostinelli (not in RePEc) Matthias Doepke (Northwestern University) Giuseppe Sorrenti (not in RePEc) Fabrizio Zilibotti (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.018 = (α=2.02 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

During adolescence, peer interactions become increasingly central to children’s development, whereas the direct influence of parents wanes. Nevertheless, parents can continue to exert leverage by shaping their children’s peer groups. We construct and estimate a model of parenting with peer and neighborhood effects where parents intervene in peer formation and show that the model captures empirical patterns of skill accumulation, parenting style, and peer characteristics among US high school students. We find that interventions that move children to better neighborhoods lose impact when they are scaled up, because parents’ equilibrium responses push against successful integration with the new peer group.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/739334
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25