Identifying Class Size Effects in Developing Countries : Evidence from Rural Schools in Bolivia

Urquiola, Miguel

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO EDUCATION;    ACHIEVEMENT;    ADMINISTRATIVE DATA;    BINDING;    CLASS SIZE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2711
RP-ID  :  WPS2711

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Although class size has attracted greatinterest as a policy instrument, inferences on its effectsare controversial. Recent work highlights a particular wayto consider the endogeneity issues that affect thisvariable: class size is often correlated with enrollment,which may in turn be related to socioeconomic status. InBolivia, the author shows, these correlations aresignificant. Building from institutional arrangements thatdetermine pupil-teacher ratios in rural areas, the authorimplements two research designs to deal with this issue. Thefirst uses a teacher allocation pattern as an instrumentalvariable; the second relies on variation from remote schoolswith a single class per grade. Both suggest that class sizehas a negative effect on test scores.