Hispanic peer effects on educational outcomes: evidence from Texas public universities

I examine the effects of Hispanic peer composition on college students' educational outcomes. Using a sample of freshmen cohorts from 1991 to 2002 at Texas public universities, I identify the Hispanic peer effects by exploiting the quasi-random variation in the share of Hispanic peers within majors and universities across cohorts. I find that an increase in the share of Hispanic peers decreases the early dropout rates of Hispanic students. The results also suggest that Hispanic peer effects reduce college dropout rates for non-STEM and male Hispanic students. This paper presents an academic channel through which the share of Hispanic peers positively affects student outcomes.