Achievement Rank Affects Performance and Major Choices in College

University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Working Paper No. 300

49 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2018

See all articles by Benjamin Elsner

Benjamin Elsner

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ingo E. Isphording

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ulf Zölitz

University of Zurich; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2018

Abstract

This paper studies how a student's ordinal achievement rank affects performance and specialization choices in university. We exploit data from a setting where students are randomly assigned to teaching sections and find that students with a higher rank in their section achieve higher grades, become more likely to graduate, and are more likely to choose related follow-up courses and majors. These effects are stronger for men who, in contrast to women, respond to a higher rank with an increase in their study effort. Our results highlight that social comparisons with peers can have lasting effects on students' careers.

Keywords: Rank, Social Comparisons, Higher Education, Peer Effects

JEL Classification: I21, J16, J31

Suggested Citation

Elsner, Benjamin and Isphording, Ingo E. and Zölitz, Ulf, Achievement Rank Affects Performance and Major Choices in College (September 2018). University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Working Paper No. 300, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3258340 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3258340

Benjamin Elsner (Contact Author)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.benjaminelsner.com

Ingo E. Isphording

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Ulf Zölitz

University of Zurich ( email )

Rämistrasse 71
Zürich, CH-8006
Switzerland

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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