Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10341
Authors: Rosario Maria Ballatore; Margherita Fort; Andrea Ichino
Abstract: We exploit rules of class formation to identify the causal effect of increasing the number of immigrants in a classroom on natives test scores, keeping class size constant (Pure Composition Effect). We explain why this is a relevant policy parameter although it has been neglected so far. We show that the PCE is sizeable and negative at age 7 (-1.6% for language and math) and does not vanish when children grow up to age 10. Conventional estimates are instead smaller because they are confounded by endogenous class size adjustments implemented by principals when confronted with immigrant and native inflows.
Keywords: education; immigration; integration
JEL Codes: C36; I20; I24; J15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increasing the number of immigrants in a classroom (J11) | Decrease in natives' test scores (J15) |
| Pre-enrollment of natives (J15) | Allocation of immigrant students (I24) |
| Native pre-enrollment exceeds threshold (Y40) | Classes are split (C42) |
| Endogenous class size adjustments by principals (D29) | Smaller estimates of immigrant inflows effects on native performance (J69) |