RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1405
OP 1434
DO 10.3368/jhr.0921-11888R2
VO 60
IS 4
A1 Zhu, Maria
YR 2025
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/4/1405.abstract
AB Research and popular discourse on social networks in higher education have focused on elite universities, even though most students do not attend such institutions. This paper sheds novel light on how classmate networks at community colleges influence job finding. Using data from a state community college system linked to matched employer–employee records, I exploit quasi-random variation in class section enrollment within courses to detect network effects. I find students are significantly more likely to get a job at a classmate’s firm later than at the firm of a peer enrolled in a different section of the same course.