From Ties to Gains? Evidence on Connectedness and Human Capital Acquisition

This paper uses micro‐level data on social networks in middle and secondary schools to estimate effects of connectedness on education attainment outcomes. The analysis addresses concerns about unobserved neighborhood and school‐level heterogeneity by using within‐school variation between grade cohorts to identify effects of connectedness. Main findings include that being part of a more connected cohort within a given secondary or middle school is associated with significantly higher years of schooling attained and higher probability of having attended college 7 years later.