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

Victimization and Skill Accumulation: The Case of School Bullying

Miguel Sarzosa
Published online before print November 15, 2021, 0819-10371R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0819-10371R2
Miguel Sarzosa
Purdue University
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Recent literature has shown that skills are not only essential for the development of successful adults, but also that they are malleable and prone to be affected by many experiences, especially during childhood. This paper examines how bullying depletes skills in school children. I formulate a dynamic model of skill accumulation with endogenous victimization based on the identification of unobserved heterogeneity. I allow victimization to depend on each student’s traits and those of her classmates. Using a unique longitudinal dataset on middle school students, I find that victimization depletes current skill levels by 40% of a standard deviation for the average child. This skill depletion causes the individual to become 34% more likely to experience bullying again. Therefore bullying triggers a self-reinforcing mechanism that opens an ever-growing skill gap. Finally, I find evidence that supports the allocation of students in more skill-homogeneous classrooms as a tool to reduce victimization.

Keywords:
  • Bullying
  • non-cognitive skills
  • skill dynamics
JEL codes:
  • I12
  • I14
  • I25
  • I31

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
Next
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (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.
Victimization and Skill Accumulation: The Case of School Bullying
(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
Victimization and Skill Accumulation: The Case of School Bullying
Miguel Sarzosa
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2021, 0819-10371R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0819-10371R2

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Victimization and Skill Accumulation: The Case of School Bullying
Miguel Sarzosa
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2021, 0819-10371R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0819-10371R2
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • 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

Keywords

  • bullying
  • non-cognitive skills
  • skill dynamics
  • I12
  • I14
  • I25
  • I31
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire