Maimonides' Rule Redux
- (pp. 309-24)
Abstract
We use Maimonides' rule as an instrument for class size in large Israeli samples from 2002–2011. In contrast with Angrist and Lavy (1999), newer estimates show no evidence of class size effects. The new data also reveal enrollment manipulation near Maimonides cutoffs. A modified rule that uses birthdays to impute enrollment circumvents manipulation while still generating precisely estimated zeros. In both old and new data, Maimonides' rule is unrelated to socioeconomic characteristics conditional on a few controls. Enrollment manipulation therefore appears to be innocuous. We briefly discuss possible explanations for the disappearance of Israeli class size effects since the early 1990s.Citation
Angrist, Joshua D., Victor Lavy, Jetson Leder-Luis, and Adi Shany. 2019. "Maimonides' Rule Redux." American Economic Review: Insights, 1 (3): 309-24. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20180120Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C38 Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models: Classification Methods; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Models
- H52 National Government Expenditures and Education
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy