Chris Blattman

Search
Close this search box.

Yet more reasons I am terrified about having a teenage daughter

And she is only 9 weeks old at the moment.

David Card and Laura Giuliano look at adolescent peer effects:

The likelihood that one friend initiates intercourse within a year of the baseline interview increases by 4 percentage points (on a base of 14%) if the other also initiates intercourse, holding constant family and individual factors. Similar effects are also present for smoking, marijuana use, and truancy. We find larger peer effects for females and for pairs that are more likely to remain best friends after a year. We also find important asymmetries in the strength of the peer effects in non-reciprocated friendships.

I am a bit disappointed they did not title the paper “Everything I know about peer effects I learned from the Breakfast Club”

Why We Fight - Book Cover
Subscribe to Blog