The article is an introduction to a range of problems of an empirical analysis of social media of higher education institutions students. In the first part of the article basic definitions are given, and key statistical characteristics of social media are described - such as network density, a...

We estimate the influence of classmates ability characteristics on student achievement in exogenously formed student groups. The study uses the administrative data on undergraduate students in large selective university in Russia. The presence of high-ability classmates has positive effect on...

We analyze the characteristics of the social networks of students studying in the economics department in one Russian university. We focus on student friendship and study assistance ties and demonstrate how these networks are connected with the individual characteristics of students and their...

The authors discuss models presented in papers which are concerned with peer-effects in higher education, and their limitations. Open questions of educational policy and the challenges that they issue for researchers are formulated.

We estimate the influence of classmates’ ability characteristics on student achievement in exogenously formed student groups. The study uses administrative data on undergraduate students at a large selective university in Russia. The presence of high-ability classmates has a positive effect on...

Among the key issues of peer effects estimation is the correct identification of relevant peers. In this study, we explore how the individual performance of university students is influenced by characteristics and achievements of peers from individual’s social network. The analysis uses data...

We estimate the correlation between student’s choice of specialization and the choices of the students connected by social ties. We use data on students of Economics department at one of the Russian universities and show that the choice is linked with the choice of friends as well as study...