In a Small Moment: Class Size and Moral Hazard in the Italian Mezzogiorno
研究发现意大利南部班级规模对考试成绩的影响完全由教师操纵分数驱动，揭示了低问责制下分数操纵的严重后果。
Instrumental variables (IV ) estimates show strong class-size effects in Southern Italy. But Italy's Mezzogiorno is distinguished by manipulation of standardized test scores as well as by economic disadvantage. IV estimates suggest small classes increase manipulation. We argue that score manipulation is a consequence of teacher shirking. IV estimates of a causal model for achievement as a function of class size and score manipulation show that class-size effects on measured achievement are driven entirely by the relationship between class size and manipulation. These results illustrate how consequential score manipulation can arise even in assessment systems with few accountability concerns.