PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gong, Jie
AU  - Lu, Yi
AU  - Song, Hong
TI  - Gender Peer Effects on Students’ Academic and Noncognitive Outcomes: Evidence and Mechanisms
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.56.3.0918-9736R2
DP  - 2019 Sep 16
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0918-9736R2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/09/10/jhr.56.3.0918-9736R2.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2019/09/10/jhr.56.3.0918-9736R2.full
AB  - This paper examines gender peer effects on students’ academic and noncognitive outcomes. We use a nationally representative survey of middle school students in China and focus on schools that randomly assign students to classrooms. Our findings show that having a higher proportion of female peers in class improves students’ test scores and noncognitive outcomes, which include their social acclimation and general satisfaction in school. A further decomposition of channels suggests that teacher behavior, greater student effort, and the improved classroom environment are the primary channels through which peers’ gender influences student outcomes.