Social Animal House
2025-04-02 18:58:07.084541+02 by Dan Lyke 0 comments
I have long asserted that the academic setting is a crappy way to learn. I have also said that what I've struggled with in my career is social connections, and that if I had it to do over again, I'd get into the best school I possibly could, and party my ass off.
Anyway....
We exploit changes in the residential and social environment on campus to identify the economic and academic consequences of fraternity membership at a small Northeastern college. Our estimates suggest that these consequences are large, with fraternity membership lowering student GPA by approximately 0.25 points on the traditional four-point scale, but raising future income by approximately 36%, for those students whose decision about membership is affected by changes in the environment. These results suggest that fraternity membership causally produces large gains in social capital, which more than outweigh its negative effects on human capital for potential members.