Research

The identification of endogenous network linking effects using latent propensity scores

(New draft coming soon)

The endogeneity of network formation has been a major obstacle to the study of peer influence. This paper proposes a causal identification solution in the potential outcome framework. Combining results from multiple causal inference and statistical network analysis, I show that confounding can be addressed by inferring propensity scores of network link formation from the adjacency matrix. As an application, I estimate the effect of high school friendships on bachelor’s degree attainment. While previous literature finds exposure to more high-achieving boys makes girls less likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree, I show that if the girls consider the boys as friends, their interactions induce a positive impact instead. Since friendship endogeneity has been addressed, the estimated effect is causal.