Do Peers Affect Student Achievement in China's Secondary Schools?
利用中国独特数据集，首次确凿证明同伴表现与学生成绩之间存在正向且非线性的关系，为学校择校、取消隔离、能力分班等政策辩论提供实证依据。
Peer effects have figured prominently in debates on school vouchers, desegregation, ability tracking and anti-poverty programs. Compelling evidence of their existence remains scarce for plaguing endogeneity issues such as selection bias and the reflection problem. This paper is among the first to firmly establish the link between peer performance and student achievement, using a unique dataset from China. We find strong evidence that peer effects exist and operate in a positive and nonlinear manner; reducing the variation of peer performance increases achievement; and our semi-parametric estimates clarify the tradeoffs facing policymakers in exploiting positive peers effects to increase future achievement.