In a Small Moment: Class Size and Moral Hazard in the Italian Mezzogiorno

Joshua Angrist, Erich Battistin () and Daniela Vuri ()

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2017, vol. 9, issue 4, 216-49

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.

JEL-codes: D82 H75 I21 I26 I28 J24 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20160267
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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