Description
This project investigates direct sibling spillover effects in school achievement using administrative data on 220,000 siblings in England. We extend previous strategies to identify peer effects by exploiting the variation in school test scores across three subjects observed at ages 11 and 16 as well as variation in peer quality between siblings. Based on the National Pupil Database (NPD) we find a statistically significant positive spillover effect from the older to the younger sibling but not vice versa. Spillover effects from high achieving older siblings are larger than from low achieving ones, but this relationship is weaker for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Team Members
Dr Birgitta Rabe, Senior Research Fellow, ISER, University of Essex
Professor Cheti Nicoletti, Professor of Economics, University of York
Publications
Sibling spillover effects in school achievement, Cheti Nicoletti, Birgitta Rabe, 12 May 2016