Conferenciante:

Palaash Bhargava de Columbia University

Short Bio: Palaash Bhargaba is a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at Columbia University. He is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2025, and he is currently in the academic job market. He is a Development and Labor economist studying topics in education and social networks. As secondary research interests, Palaash has worked on Economic History, Experimental Economics, climate issues, and household finance. Prior joining Columbia University, Palaash obtained an MA degree on Economics at the Delhi School of Economics and worked as an Assistant Instructor of Economics at the New York University, Abu Dhabi.

Abstract: Social connections matter for educational, non-cognitive and long run labour market outcomes. Using a sample of 12,842 students from India, I first show that relatively isolated students face a host of socio-emotional and academic disadvantages. I then implement a two-tier randomized deskmate matching intervention, aimed at improving the outcomes of these isolated students. The results reveal a notable trade-off. Within the classroom, matching isolated students with each other improves their social connections with peers, interactions with teachers and social / non-cognitive skills. However, across classrooms, creating more isolated-popular deskmate pairs improves social integration for isolated students with no change in social and non-cognitive skills. These findings suggest that optimal matching plans need to account for both direct and group-level effects, which may operate in opposing directions, leading to equity-efficiency trade-offs. JEL Codes: A14, C93, D85, I24, I31, O15 Keywords: Social Isolation, Peer effects, Network formation, Non-cognitive skills, Classroom experiences

Kewords: Social Isolation, Peer effects, Network formation, Non-cognitive skills, Classroom experiences.