Rank, Sex, Drugs, and Crime

34 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2015

See all articles by Benjamin Elsner

Benjamin Elsner

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ingo E. Isphording

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

In this paper we show that a student's ordinal rank in a high school cohort is an important determinant of engaging in risky behaviors. Using longitudinal data from representative US high schools, and exploiting idiosyncratic variation in the cohort composition within a school, we find a strong negative effect of a student's rank on the likelihood of smoking, drinking, having unprotected sex, and engaging in physical fights. We further provide suggestive evidence that these results are driven by status concerns and differences in career expectations.

Keywords: risky behavior, ability rank, peer effects, beliefs, expectations

JEL Classification: I12, I14, I21, I24

Suggested Citation

Elsner, Benjamin and Isphording, Ingo E., Rank, Sex, Drugs, and Crime. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9478, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2690727 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2690727

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

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