Peer creativity and academic achievement

Economics of Education Review, vol. 106, pp. 102649

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between the creative abilities of study peers and academic achievement. We conduct a novel large scale field experiment at university, where students are randomized into work groups based on their score on a creativity test prior to university entry. We show that the creative abilities of peers matter for a student’s academic achievement. A one standard deviation higher creativity peer group improves study performance by 6.2 to 7.6 percentage points. Further analysis suggests that students exposed to creative peers become more creative, but do not adjust their overall study effort. This is in line with the idea that creative approaches and questions from peers help students master the study material better. Overall, our study highlights the importance of peer effects of creative students in shaping academic outcomes.

Authors 1

1. Max van Lent corresponding Aachen Department of Economics at Leiden University

   Leiden University · IZA - Institute of Labor Economics

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Economics at Leiden University, The Netherlands

   IZA, Germany