Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges
Maria Zhu
Journal of Human Resources, November 2022
Research and popular discourse on social networks in higher education have focused on elite universities, even though most students do not attend such institutions. This paper sheds novel light on how classmate networks at community colleges influence job finding.
Using data from a state community college system linked to matched employer-employee records, I exploit quasi-random variation in class section enrollment within courses to detect network effects.
I find students are significantly more likely to get a job at a classmate’s firm later than at the firm of a peer enrolled in a different section of the same course.
Related News
Commentary

Feb 14, 2025
Commentary

Feb 13, 2025
Commentary

Feb 12, 2025
Commentary

Feb 11, 2025