Peer Effects in Program Participation

We estimate peer effects in paid paternity leave in Norway using a regression discontinuity design. Coworkers and brothers are 11 and 15 percentage points, respectively, more likely to take paternity leave if their peer was exogenously induced to take up leave. The most likely mechanism is informati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSSRN Electronic Journal Vol. 104; no. 7; pp. 2049 - 2074
Main Authors Dahl, Gordon B., Løken, Katrine V., Mogstad, Magne
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Nashville American Economic Association 01.07.2014
Subjects
Brothers
Childbirth
Children
Discontinuity
Economics
Employers
Estimation
Families & family life
Fatherhood
Fathers
Gender equity
Knowledge
Maternity & paternity leaves
Neighborhoods
Norway
Parental leave
Paternity leave
Peer groups
Peer relationships
Peers
Regression analysis
Social interaction
Social norms
Studies
Workplaces
Norway
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0002-8282
1556-5068
1944-7981
DOI10.1257/aer.104.7.2049

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Summary:We estimate peer effects in paid paternity leave in Norway using a regression discontinuity design. Coworkers and brothers are 11 and 15 percentage points, respectively, more likely to take paternity leave if their peer was exogenously induced to take up leave. The most likely mechanism is information transmission, including increased knowledge of how an employer will react. The estimated peer effect snowballs over time, as the first peer interacts with a second peer, the second peer with a third, and so on. This leads to long-run participation rates which are substantially higher than would otherwise be expected.
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ISSN:0002-8282
1556-5068
1944-7981
DOI:10.1257/aer.104.7.2049