O Brother, Where Start Thou? Sibling Spillovers on College and Major Choice in Four Countries

107 Pages Posted: 20 May 2020

See all articles by Adam Altmejd

Adam Altmejd

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI); Stockholm School of Economics - Department of Finance

Andrés Barrios Fernández

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Economics; London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP); VATT Institute for Economic Research

Marin Drlje

Independent

Michael Hurwitz

College Board

Dejan Kovac

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Christine Mulhern

Harvard University

Christopher Neilson

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business; Princeton University - Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

Jonathan Smith

Advocacy and Policy Center - College Board

Joshua Goodman

Boston University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

Family and social networks are widely believed to influence important life decisions but identifying their causal effects is notoriously difficult. Using admissions thresholds that directly affect older but not younger siblings' college options, we present evidence from the United States, Chile, Sweden and Croatia that older siblings' college and major choices can significantly influence their younger siblings' college and major choices. On the extensive margin, an older sibling's enrollment in a better college increases a younger sibling's probability of enrolling in college at all, especially for families with low predicted probabilities of enrollment. On the intensive margin, an older sibling's choice of college or major increases the probability that a younger sibling applies to and enrolls in that same college or major. Spillovers in major choice are stronger when older siblings enroll and succeed in more selective and higher-earning majors. The observed spillovers are not well-explained by price, income, proximity or legacy effects, but are most consistent with older siblings transmitting otherwise unavailable information about the college experience and its potential returns. The importance of such personally salient in-formation may partly explain persistent differences in college-going rates by geography, income, and other determinants of social networks.

Keywords: sibling effects, college and major choice, peer and social network effects

JEL Classification: I210, I240

Suggested Citation

Altmejd, Adam and Barrios Fernández, Andrés and Drlje, Marin and Hurwitz, Michael and Kovac, Dejan and Mulhern, Christine and Neilson, Christopher and Smith, Jonathan and Goodman, Joshua, O Brother, Where Start Thou? Sibling Spillovers on College and Major Choice in Four Countries (2020). CESifo Working Paper No. 8301, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3603836 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3603836

Adam Altmejd

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) ( email )

Kyrkgatan 43B
SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Stockholm School of Economics - Department of Finance ( email )

SE-113 83 Stockholm
Sweden

Andrés Barrios Fernández

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Economics ( email )

London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

VATT Institute for Economic Research ( email )

Arkadiankatu 7
P.O Box 1279
Helsinki, FIN-00531
Finland
0503013739 (Phone)
00101 (Fax)

Marin Drlje

Independent ( email )

Michael Hurwitz

College Board ( email )

1919 M Street NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
United States

Dejan Kovac

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

Christine Mulhern

Harvard University ( email )

Christopher Neilson

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
Suite 9-160
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

Princeton University - Princeton School of Public and International Affairs ( email )

Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544-1021
United States

Jonathan Smith

Advocacy and Policy Center - College Board ( email )

GA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/jonathansmithphd/

Joshua Goodman (Contact Author)

Boston University ( email )

595 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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