Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

No 2026:17: Peers and careers: unequal returns to elite alumni networks

Alexander Fischer, Andrei Gorshkov (), Tróndur M. Sandoy and Jeanette Walldorf
Additional contact information
Alexander Fischer: Trivago, Germany
Andrei Gorshkov: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Tróndur M. Sandoy: University of Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands
Jeanette Walldorf: Ministry of Children and Education, Denmark, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract: Do alumni ties preserve economic advantage? Linking random tutorial-group assignments at a Danish business school to administrative career data, we show that students align careers more with group peers than others in the same cohort, particularly through shared workplaces. These effects are especially pronounced among students from the wealthiest families and concentrated in top-paying firms. More exposure to affluent peers raises earnings, access to top-paying jobs, and increases the probability of reaching the top income ranks for similarly privileged students, while not for others. Job transitions to group peers point to gains from peer-connected moves, again concentrated among wealthier students.

Keywords: Social connections; Peer effects; Elite university; Social mobility

JEL-codes: I24; I26; J62

Language: English

77 pages, September 9, 2026

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