School Selectivity, Peers, and Mental Health

Aline Bütikofer, Rita Ginja, Fanny Landaud () and Katrine Løken
Additional contact information
Fanny Landaud: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway

No 21/2020, Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics

Abstract: Although many students suffer from anxiety and depression, and students often identify school pressure and concerns about their futures as the main reasons for their worries, little is known about the consequences of a selective school environment on students’ physical and mental health. In this paper, we draw on rich administrative data and the features of the high school assignment system in the largest Norwegian cities to consider the long-term consequences of enrollment in a more selective high school. Using a regression discontinuity analysis, we show that eligibility to enroll in a more selective high school increases the probability of enrollment in higher education and decreases the probability of diagnosis or treatment by a general medical practitioner for psychological symptoms and diseases. We further document that enrolling in a more selective high school has a greater positive impact when there are larger changes in the student–teacher ratio, teachers’ age, and the proportion of female teachers. These findings suggest that changes in teacher characteristics are important for better understanding the effects of a more selective school environment.

Keywords: School selectivity; Mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I00 I10 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2020-10-14
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-hea
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2684626 Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: School selectivity, peers, and mental health (2021)
Working Paper: School Selectivity, Peers, and Mental Health (2020)
Working Paper: School Selectivity, Peers, and Mental Health (2020)
Working Paper: School Selectivity, Peers, and Mental Health (2020)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2020_021

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Karen Reed-Larsen ().