研讨主题

How Competition Shapes Peer Effects: Evidence from a University in China

竞争对同伴效应的影响研究

主讲人

王岑文（中国公共财政与政策研究院2024级硕士研究生）

时间

2025年6月11日中午12:45-13：45

地点

学术会堂712

点评教师

戴田甜 姜神怡 明洋 尹鹏辉

论文简介

This paper investigates how competition shapes peer effects in higher education. Using administrative data from a Chinese university with randomly assigned roommates, the authors find that high-ability roommates have a slightly detrimental effect on the academic performance of other high-ability students. Crucially, this negative peer effect intensifies as the level of competition increases. The study measures competition across five dimensions,such as when students are in the same major-cohort(direct competitors for scholarships), have similar cultural backgrounds, or are closer in academic ability. A follow-up survey reveals the underlying mechanism for this phenomenon: heightened competition discourages helping andpromotes unfriendly behaviors among roommates. The research concludes that peer effects are not fixed but are context- dependent and actively shaped by the competitive nature of the environment, holding important policy implications for universities on managing student interactions and incentive structures.

这篇文章研究了竞争如何塑造高等教育中的同伴效应。作者利用一所中国大学的行政数据和随机分配的宿舍室友安排，发现高能力室友对其他高能力学生的学业表现有轻微的负面影响。至关重要的是，这种负面同伴效应会随着竞争强度的增加而加剧。该研究通过五个维度来衡量竞争，例如当学生同属一个专业（奖学金的直接竞争者）、拥有相似的文化背景或学术能力相近时。一项后续调查揭示了这一现象的内在机制：激烈的竞争减少了室友间的互相帮助，并催生了不友好的行为。该研究的结论是，同伴效应并非固定不变，而是依赖于具体情境，并由环境的竞争性质主动塑造，这对大学如何管理学生互动和激励机制具有重要的政策启示。

活动对象

创新发展学院本科生、研究生

人数规模

30人

主办单位

创新发展学院中国经济与管理研究院

撰稿：王岑文

审稿：汪雄剑、姜神怡

编辑：沈嘉怡

审核：王颖