Economic Value of Popularity

Read the report here.

They find that each extra close friend in high school is associated with earnings that are 2 percent higher later in life after controlling for other factors. While not a huge effect, it does suggest that either that a) the same factors that make you popular in high school help you in a job setting, or b) that high-school friends can do you favors later in life that will earn you higher wages.

Read his caveats as well. I would like to know more about the shape of the distribution. I would think that the most popular people achieve only mediocre results, whereas the very high earners are either loners (but not necessarily "unpopular" in the sense of being disliked) or had above-average popularity but not extreme popularity. Too much popularity too early produces the feeling that other things will come easily, too easily.