Analysis of Peer Effects on the Academic Performance of HSE Students

In the present paper we research peer effects for students of the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Business Informatics, who entered the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Perm in 2012 and 2013. We test the hypothesis about the significance of environmental characteristics, from which the applicant entered the university. The mean USE math scores of schools, from which respondents came to the university, are taken as the exogenous characteristics of the environment. Econometric analysis for the identification of peer effects is carried out using the statistical package Eviews. The analysis showed that the mean scores on the USE mathematics of a student’s classmates are not significantly associated with the academic achievements of students. The percentage of students, who have low USE scores in mathematics, influences the academic performance of the bottom subgroup. Thus, we found empirical evidence of the presence of weak and fragmented peer effects. The results can be used to clarify the administrative methods of formation of student groups in the HSE, Perm. Keywords: peer effects, academic performance, higher education, prediction of achievement.