In this study, we analyze whether the gender of a student’s siblings affects the choice of college major. A family with … same-gender siblings may encourage academic choices that are less gender stereotyped. We use a unique dataset covering 30 …,000 Italian students who graduated from high school between 1985 and 2005 that allows us to identify siblings. We follow their …

We study within-family spillovers in college enrollment to show college-going behavior is transmissible between peers …. Because siblings' test scores are weakly correlated, we exploit college-specific admissions thresholds that directly affect … older but not younger siblings' college options. Older siblings' admissibility substantially increases their own four …