@techreport{NBERw12305,
 title = "Do Peers Affect Student Achievement in China's Secondary Schools?",
 author = "Weili Ding and Steven F. Lehrer",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "12305",
 year = "2006",
 month = "June",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w12305",
 abstract = {Peer effects have figured prominently in debates on school vouchers, desegregation, ability tracking and anti-poverty programs. Compelling evidence of their existence remains scarce for plaguing endogeneity issues such as selection bias and the reflection problem. This paper firmly establishes a link between peer performance and student achievement, using a unique dataset from China. We find strong evidence that peer effects exist and operate in a positive and nonlinear manner; reducing the variation of peer performance increases achievement; and our semi-parametric estimates clarify the tradeoffs facing policymakers in exploiting positive peers effects to increase future achievement.},
}