Bias and high-dimensional adjustment in observational studies of peer effects

Understand

Peer effects, in which the behavior of an individual is affected by the behavior of their peers, are posited by multiple theories in the social sciences.

• Other processes can also produce behaviors that are correlated in networks and groups, thereby generating debate about the credibility of observational (i.e.
• nonexperimental) studies of peer effects.
• Randomized field experiments that identify peer effects, however, are often expensive or infeasible.