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Peer Effects and Alcohol Use among College Students

Michael Kremer and Dan Levy.

Published in Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22 (3): 189-206. in the year 2008

Does having a college roommate who drinks alcohol influence academic performance?

What they found

For male students, having a college roommate who frequently drank alcohol before college reduces one's GPA by 0.28.

For female students, there is no effect.

Researchers analyzed data from a survey which was conducted in university where students were randomly assigned as roommates.

They compared the GPA of students based on their roommates' drinking habits in high school.

A large state university in the US (name not identified)

Students who drink may also differ from those who do not in ways that are difficult to measure, making it hard to isolate the effect of drinking.

Michael Kremer, Professor , Harvard University

,Dan Levy, Senior Lecturer, Harvard University

Kremer, Michael, and Dan Levy. 2008. "Peer Effects and Alcohol Use among College Students." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22 (3): 189-206.