The Long-Run Effects of Peers on Mental Health
研究发现,在控制自身能力后,学生在班级中的相对排名每提高一个标准差,其心理健康水平提升6%,且对低能力学生影响更大,效果持续至少14年,并影响长期经济结果。
Abstract This paper studies how peers in school affect students’ mental health. Guided by a theoretical framework, we find that increasing students’ relative ranks in their cohorts by one standard deviation improves their mental health by 6% of a standard deviation conditional on own ability. These effects are more pronounced for low-ability students, persistent for at least 14 years and carry over to economic long-run outcomes. Moreover, we document a pronounced asymmetry: Students who receive negative rather than positive shocks react more strongly. Our findings therefore provide evidence on how the school environment can have long-lasting consequences for individuals’ well-being.