Peer Effects on Mental Health: Evidence from Random Assignment into Classrooms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anwen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Peer Effects ◽  
Random Assignment

Self-Selection of Peers and Performance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Kiessling ◽  
Jonas Radbruch ◽  
Sebastian Schaube
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Peer Effects ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Multiple Characteristics ◽  
Framed Field Experiment ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Selection Of

This paper studies how the presence of peers and different peer assignment rules—self-selection versus random assignment—affect individual performance. Using a framed field experiment, we find that the presence of a randomly assigned peer improves performance by 28% of a standard deviation (SD), whereas self-selecting peers induces an additional 15%–18% SD improvement in performance. Our results document peer effects in multiple characteristics and show that self-selection changes these characteristics. However, a decomposition reveals that variations in the peer composition contribute only little to the performance differences across peer assignment rules. Rather, we find that self-selection has a direct effect on performance. This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, decision analysis.

scholarly journals Job stress and mental health among social workers: evidence from a field experiment at a public employment support institution in Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumi Ishikawa ◽  
Miki Kohara ◽  
Aya Nushimoto
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Public Employment ◽  
Employment Support

AbstractThis study examines the causal effects of job stress on workers’ mental health. Evaluating the causal relationship between job stress and workers’ mental health is challenging due to an endogeneity problem, as heavy workloads and thus job stress are likely assigned to workers in good mental health condition. Endogeneity can also be problematic due to workers’ unobserved heterogeneity, such as personal capacities and stress resistance, which are associated with both job stress and mental health outcomes. To solve this problem, we conduct a field experiment at a public employment support institution in Japan. In the experiment, we randomly assign counsellors to jobseekers who are visiting the institution for the first time. Since jobseekers experience varying levels of difficulty finding work, this random assignment results in unexpected workloads, adding job stress for counsellors. We then collect counsellors’ daily records on mental health conditions for 4 consecutive weeks, matching the responses with the random assignment data on job counselling. Utilising a panel structure of the dataset and applying a fixed-effects model, we remove counsellors’ time-invariant unobserved heterogeneities. We measure counsellors’ mental health in terms of both subjective, self-reported perceptions and objective aspects of blood pressure and pulse. The results reveal that the job stress driven by newly assigned problematic jobseekers deteriorates aspects of counsellors’ objective mental health, whereas it does not appear to affect their subjective mental health. This result suggests that workers can accumulate the negative effects of job stress on mental health that they may be unaware of.

Methodological Challenges in Researching Problem-Solving Courts

2019 ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
David DeMatteo ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Alice Thornewill ◽  
Shelby Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Drug Courts ◽  
Criminal Recidivism ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Problem Solving Courts

This chapter discusses the methodological challenges faced by researchers attempting to study the operations and effectiveness of problem-solving courts. Although researchers have conducted a great deal of research on drug courts, and research on mental health courts is continuing to grow, there is relatively little research on all other types of problem-solving courts. This chapter discusses the current research landscape and describes how research on these courts can be challenging for a variety of ethical and logistical reasons. Specifically, this chapter highlights the difficulties associated with conducting valid empirical research on problem-solving courts, including an overview of difficulties with random assignment, skewed samples, outcome measures, and jurisdictional differences. The authors also discuss the disconnect between indicators of progress used in some problem-solving courts and reductions in criminal recidivism.

scholarly journals Peer Effects in the Workplace: Evidence from Random Groupings in Professional Golf Tournaments

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Guryan ◽  
Kory Kroft ◽  
Matthew J Notowidigdo
Keyword(s):  
Labor Markets ◽  
Peer Effects ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Soft Fruit ◽  
Rule Out

This paper uses random assignment in professional golf tournaments to test for peer effects in the workplace. We find no evidence that playing partners' ability affects performance, contrary to recent evidence on peer effects in the workplace from laboratory experiments, grocery scanners, and soft fruit pickers. In our preferred specification, we can rule out peer effects larger than 0.043 strokes for a one stroke increase in playing partners' ability. Our results complement existing studies on workplace peer effects and are useful in explaining how social effects vary across labor markets, across individuals, and with the form of incentives faced. (JEL D83, J44, L83)

scholarly journals Social Interactions in Health Behaviors and Conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Balsa ◽  
Carlos Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Peer Influence ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Teen Pregnancy ◽  
Peer Effects ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Future Research

Health behaviors are a major source of morbidity and mortality in the developed and much of the developing world. The social nature of many of these behaviors, such as eating or using alcohol, and the normative connotations that accompany others (i.e., sexual behavior, illegal drug use) make them quite susceptible to peer influence. This chapter assesses the role of social interactions in the determination of health behaviors. It highlights the methodological progress of the past two decades in addressing the multiple challenges inherent in the estimation of peer effects, and notes methodological issues that still need to be confronted. A comprehensive review of the economics empirical literature—mostly for developed countries—shows strong and robust peer effects across a wide set of health behaviors, including alcohol use, body weight, food intake, body fitness, teen pregnancy, and sexual behaviors. The evidence is mixed when assessing tobacco use, illicit drug use, and mental health. The article also explores the as yet incipient literature on the mechanisms behind peer influence and on new developments in the study of social networks that are shedding light on the dynamics of social influence. There is suggestive evidence that social norms and social conformism lie behind peer effects in substance use, obesity, and teen pregnancy, while social learning has been pointed out as a channel behind fertility decisions, mental health utilization, and uptake of medication. Future research needs to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms behind peer influence in health behaviors in order to design more targeted welfare-enhancing policies.

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