Gritty peers

We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to explore how high school peers’ grit, a personality trait characterized by perseverance and passion, influences long-term outcomes approximately 15 years after high school. Exploiting random variation within schools across cohorts and the longitudinal nature of our data, we find that peer grit significantly increases future earnings by 4.2%, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This implies that peer grit may help bridge socioeconomic gaps. We uncover three potential channels through which peer grit affects long-term earnings: college enrollment, job alignment with long-term career goals, and increased resilience to difficulties. Additionally, peer grit leads to higher job satisfaction and asset accumulation. Thus, peer grit’s effects extend beyond short-term educational performance and persist into adulthood. • High school peer grit increases adult earnings by 4.2%. • Identification exploits random cohort variation within schools. • Peer grit increases college enrollment and long-term job alignment. • Effects are strongest for students from low-SES backgrounds.