Selection on observed and unobserved variables: Assessing the effectiveness of Catholic schools

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Altonji, JG; Elder, TE; Taber, CR
• 署名单位: Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/426036
• 发表日期: 2005
• 页码: 151-184
• 关键词: TWIN BIRTHS

摘要

In this paper we measure the effect of Catholic high school attendance on educational attainment and test scores. Because we do not have a good instrumental variable for Catholic school attendance, we develop new estimation methods based on the idea that the amount of selection on the observed explanatory variables in a model provides a guide to the amount of selection on the unobservables. We also propose an informal way to assess selectivity bias based on measuring the ratio of selection on unobservables to selection on observables that would be required if one is to attribute the entire effect of Catholic school attendance to selection bias. We use our methods to estimate the effect of attending a Catholic high school on a variety of outcomes. Our main conclusion is that Catholic high schools substantially increase the probability of graduating from high school and, more tentatively, attending college. We find little evidence of an effect on test scores.