Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

Peer Effects in Academic Cheating

Scott E. Carrell, Frederick V. Malmstrom and James E. West
Journal of Human Resources, January 2008, 43 (1) 173-207; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.43.1.173
Scott E. Carrell
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Frederick V. Malmstrom
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
James E. West
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Using self-reported academic cheating from the classes of 1959 through 2002 at the three major United States military service academies (Air Force, Army, and Navy), we measure how peer cheating influences individual cheating behavior. We find higher levels of peer cheating result in a substantially increased probability that an individual will cheat. One additional college student who cheated in high school drives approximately 0.33 to 0.47 additional college students to cheat. One additional college cheater drives approximately 0.61 to 0.75 additional college students to cheat. These results imply, in equilibrium, the social multiplier for academic cheating is approximately three.

  • Received December 2005.
  • Accepted January 2007.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 43, Issue 1
1 Jan 2008
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Peer Effects in Academic Cheating
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
Peer Effects in Academic Cheating
Scott E. Carrell, Frederick V. Malmstrom, James E. West
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2008, 43 (1) 173-207; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.43.1.173

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Peer Effects in Academic Cheating
Scott E. Carrell, Frederick V. Malmstrom, James E. West
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2008, 43 (1) 173-207; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.43.1.173
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Detecting and Preventing Cheating in Exams: Evidence from a Field Experiment
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Crossing Borders
  • The Evolution of the Wage Elasticity of Labor Supply over Time
  • The Effects of High School Remediation on Long-Run Educational Attainment
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire