In a Small Moment: Class Size and Moral Hazard in the Italian Mezzogiorno
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app.20160267.pdf
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977.93 KB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Angrist, Joshua
Battistin, Erich
Vuri, Daniela
Date Issued
October 2017
Journal
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Angrist, Joshua D. et al. “In a Small Moment: Class Size and Moral Hazard in the Italian Mezzogiorno.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9, 4 (October 2017): 216–249
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Instrumental variables (IV ) estimates show strong class-size effects in Southern Italy. But Italy's Mezzogiorno is distinguished by manipulation of standardized test scores as well as by economic disadvantage. IV estimates suggest small classes increase manipulation. We argue that score manipulation is a consequence of teacher shirking. IV estimates of a causal model for achievement as a function of class size and score manipulation show that class-size effects on measured achievement are driven entirely by the relationship between class size and manipulation. These results illustrate how consequential score manipulation can arise even in assessment systems with few accountability concerns.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20160267
