Student Performance, Peer Effects, and Friend Networks: Evidence from a Randomized Peer Intervention
在中国小学随机配对高低成绩学生为同桌，发现该干预提高了低成绩学生的数学成绩，并增强了双方的外向性和宜人性，表明同伴能影响人格特质。
We estimate the effects of an educational peer intervention in which previously high- and low-achieving students are randomly paired as deskmates in elementary schools in China. Our treatment boosts the mathematics scores of the low-achieving students. Moreover, the treatment enhances the extraversion and agreeableness of high- and low-achieving students, thereby providing evidence that peers can influence personality traits. The positive treatment effects can be attributed to the deskmate-level peer effects. We document friend network structure changes and present additional evidence on how friendship ties help us better understand the mechanisms behind peer effects.