Economics doctoral seminars

This paper investigates club participation among students, exploring how individual choices interact with prevailing social norms. The analysis reveals that white students’ participation in basketball and black students’ participation in baseball are significantly influenced by the size of their respective racial groups, a correlation not observed in reverse race-sport combinations. Using a Linear In Mean (LIM) model, the study finds that previous research may have overestimated the peer effects on individual decisions, primarily due to the endogeneity of friendship networks. Empirical data confirm that club participation expands students’ social connections. Furthermore, this paper introduces a social benefit-driven model that explains how social norms influence students' club participation decisions, revealing a tradeoff between the costs of membership and the social benefits gained from forming connections. The empirical analysis suggests that the differing behaviors of white and black students are driven by discrepancies in their social benefits. This study emphasizes the importance of club participation in influencing the structure of social networks. This study highlights the crucial role of club participation in shaping the structure of social networks, and the results suggest that cultural clubs foster social cohesion across different racial groups within society.