IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/juecon/v66y2009i1p65-74.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Historical religious concentrations and the effects of Catholic schooling

Author

Listed:
  • Cohen-Zada, Danny
  • Elder, Todd

Abstract

The causal effects of Catholic schooling on student outcomes have proven challenging to estimate, with several previous studies using the proportion of a geographic unit's population which is Catholic as a potentially exogenous source of variation in the availability of Catholic high schools. We propose a new approach which instead relies on the historical distribution of religious preferences. Specifically, we find that county-level Catholic shares measured at the end of the 19th century are far more strongly associated with Catholic school attendance than are current Catholic shares. Using several strategies, we show that historical Catholic shares are likely to be exogenous to student outcomes conditional on the current distribution of religion. Estimates based on this identification strategy point to smaller Catholic schooling effects than those implied by OLS, in contrast to instrumental variables estimates from previous studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cohen-Zada, Danny & Elder, Todd, 2009. "Historical religious concentrations and the effects of Catholic schooling," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 65-74, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:66:y:2009:i:1:p:65-74
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094-1190(09)00028-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    2. Figlio David & Ludwig Jens, 2012. "Sex, Drugs, and Catholic Schools: Private Schooling and Non-Market Adolescent Behaviors," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 13(4), pages 385-415, December.
    3. Jepsen, Christopher & Montgomery, Mark, 2009. "Miles to go before I learn: The effect of travel distance on the mature person's choice of a community college," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 64-73, January.
    4. Andrews,Donald W. K. & Stock,James H. (ed.), 2005. "Identification and Inference for Econometric Models," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521844413, November.
    5. Thomas Dee, 2005. "The Effects of Catholic Schooling on Civic Participation," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(5), pages 605-625, September.
    6. William Sander, 1996. "Catholic Grade Schools and Academic Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(3), pages 540-548.
    7. Cohen-Zada, D., 2009. "An alternative instrument for private school competition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 29-37, February.
    8. William N. Evans & Robert M. Schwab, 1995. "Finishing High School and Starting College: Do Catholic Schools Make a Difference?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(4), pages 941-974.
    9. Christopher Jepsen, 2003. "The Effectiveness of Catholic Primary Schooling," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(4).
    10. Koedel, Cory, 2008. "Teacher quality and dropout outcomes in a large, urban school district," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 560-572, November.
    11. Sander, William & Krautmann, Anthony C, 1995. "Catholic Schools, Dropout Rates and Educational Attainment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 33(2), pages 217-233, April.
    12. Neal, Derek, 1997. "The Effects of Catholic Secondary Schooling on Educational Achievement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 98-123, January.
    13. Richard J. Murnane, 1984. "A Review Essay-Comparisons of Public and Private Schools: Lessons from the Uproar," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 19(2), pages 263-277.
    14. Francis Vella, 1999. "Do Catholic Schools Make a Difference? Evidence from Australia," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(1), pages 208-224.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel, 2018. "Smart but unhappy: Independent-school competition and the wellbeing-efficiency trade-off in education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 66-81.
    2. Siyu Heng & Dylan S. Small & Paul R. Rosenbaum, 2020. "Finding the strength in a weak instrument in a study of cognitive outcomes produced by Catholic high schools," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 183(3), pages 935-958, June.
    3. Kim, Young-Joo, 2011. "Catholic schools or school quality? The effects of Catholic schools on labor market outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 546-558, June.
    4. Jose Fernandez & Stephan Gohmann & Joshua C. Pinkston, 2018. "Breaking Bad in Bourbon Country: Does Alcohol Prohibition Encourage Methamphetamine Production?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(4), pages 1001-1023, April.
    5. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea, 2017. "Nuns and the effects of catholic schools. Evidence from Vatican II," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 191-213.
    6. Paula Herrera-Idárraga & Enrique López-Bazo & Elisabet Motellón, 2013. "Informality and Overeducation in the Labor Market of a Developing Country," Vniversitas Económica, Universidad Javeriana - Bogotá, vol. 0(0), pages 1-36, January.
    7. Cardak, Buly A. & Vecci, Joe, 2013. "Catholic school effectiveness in Australia: A reassessment using selection on observed and unobserved variables," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 34-45.
    8. Green, Colin P. & Navarro-Paniagua, María & Ximénez-de-Embún, Domingo P. & Mancebón, María-Jesús, 2014. "School choice and student wellbeing," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 139-150.
    9. Elder, Todd & Jepsen, Christopher, 2014. "Are Catholic primary schools more effective than public primary schools?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 28-38.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Danny Cohen Zada, 2007. "An Alternative Instrument for Private School Competition," Working Papers 0705, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    2. Kim, Young-Joo, 2011. "Catholic schools or school quality? The effects of Catholic schools on labor market outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 546-558, June.
    3. Berkowitz, Daniel & Hoekstra, Mark, 2011. "Does high school quality matter? Evidence from admissions data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 280-288, April.
    4. Danny Cohen-Zada & William Sander, 2006. "Private School Choice: The Effects Of Religion And Religiosity," Working Papers 0601, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Department of Economics.
    5. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea, 2017. "Nuns and the effects of catholic schools. Evidence from Vatican II," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 191-213.
    6. Cohen-Zada, D., 2009. "An alternative instrument for private school competition," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 29-37, February.
    7. Cohen-Zada, Danny & Sander, William, 2008. "Religion, religiosity and private school choice: Implications for estimating the effectiveness of private schools," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 85-100, July.
    8. Wodon, Quentin, 2022. "Global report on integral human development 2022: measuring the contributions of Catholic and other faith-based organizations to education, healthcare, and social protection," MPRA Paper 114809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Elder, Todd & Jepsen, Christopher, 2014. "Are Catholic primary schools more effective than public primary schools?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 28-38.
    10. Mocan, Naci & Scafidi, Benjamin & Tekin, Erdal, 2002. "Catholic Schools and Bad Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Billger, Sherrilyn M., 2009. "On reconstructing school segregation: The efficacy and equity of single-sex schooling," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 393-402, June.
    12. Mocan Naci H. & Tekin Erdal, 2006. "Catholic Schools and Bad Behavior: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-36, May.
    13. Green, Colin P. & Navarro-Paniagua, María & Ximénez-de-Embún, Domingo P. & Mancebón, María-Jesús, 2014. "School choice and student wellbeing," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 139-150.
    14. Léonard Moulin, 2023. "Do private schools increase academic achievement? Evidence from France," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 247-274, March.
    15. Cardak, Buly A. & Vecci, Joe, 2013. "Catholic school effectiveness in Australia: A reassessment using selection on observed and unobserved variables," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 34-45.
    16. Cohen-Zada, Danny, 2006. "Preserving religious identity through education: Economic analysis and evidence from the US," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 372-398, November.
    17. David Card & Martin D. Dooley & A. Abigail Payne, 2010. "School Competition and Efficiency with Publicly Funded Catholic Schools," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 150-176, October.
    18. Hahn, Youjin & Wang, Liang Choon & Yang, Hee-Seung, 2018. "Does greater school autonomy make a difference? Evidence from a randomized natural experiment in South Korea," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 15-30.
    19. Ahmet Alkan & Sinan Sarpça & Sinan Sarpca, 2023. "Effects of High-Achieving Peers: Findings from a National High School Assignment System," CESifo Working Paper Series 10794, CESifo.
    20. M. Niaz Asadullah, 2016. "The Effect Of Islamic Secondary School Attendance On Academic Achievement," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 61(04), pages 1-24, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Catholic schools Treatment effect;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:66:y:2009:i:1:p:65-74. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622905 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.