Peer effects and political participation: What is the role of coursework clusters?

Abstract

This study addresses the role of peer civic engagement during adolescence on political participation in adulthood. We focus on novel specification based on an alternative peer group: the coursework cluster, which is constructed using an algorithm based on course taking habits. This paper explores how peers within course-taking clusters affect future political participation. The civic identities and politically oriented norms developed may be passed on through these classmates. Our results show that the influence of the peer group is from peers who perform better (have a higher grade point average) in social studies courses and from peers who participate in extracurricular activities.