Another Interesting Paper on Gender Differences
by rrusczyk, Jan 17, 2010, 3:25 AM
A while back, a [url=http://econ-http://www.mit.edu/files/4298]paper from Glenn Ellison and Ashley Swanson[/url] suggested that top-performing girls are much more likely to be in a school with other top performers than top-performing boys are. This paper appears to add an interesting dimension to these gender differences, in that it suggests that top girls do better in an environment with other top students, but that boys do worse. I unfortunately can't access the full paper, so I can't evaluate the research, but the suggestion is very interesting. The paper also supports the not-surprising observation that peer effects are strong on the lower end of the performance spectrum. I'd love to see the full study. (I also suspect that their definition of top students differs from mine...)
February 2012
January 2012