Be as Careful of the Company You Keep as of the Books You Read: Peer Effects in Education and on the Labor Market

We thank Ran Abramitzki, Liran Einav, Eliana La Ferrara, Caroline Hoxby, Enrico Moretti, Derek Neal, Steve Pischke, Luigi Pistaferri and Imran Rasul for their comments. We also thanks seminar participants at IZA/CEPR Summer Symposium, Stanford University, Bocconi University, the London School of Economics, ISER, the Universities of Bologna, Modena and Verona and the NBER-Education Meeting. We are grateful to Stefano Gagliarducci, Pietro Garibaldi, Francesco Giavazzi, Andrea Ichino and Enrico Rettore for providing the initial data for this project. We also thank Giacomo Carrai, Mariele Chirulli, Alessandro Ciarlo, Cherubino Profeta, Alessandra Startari, Mariangela Vago and the administration of Bocconi University for allowing access to their archives and helping with the extraction of additional data. Enrica Greggio, in particular, has been a constant source of precious information and help. Special thanks also to Amelia Spinelli for suggesting the title of this work. The usual disclaimer applies. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.