RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 An Evaluation of Instrumental Variable Strategies for Estimating the Effects of Catholic Schooling JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 791 OP 821 DO 10.3368/jhr.XL.4.791 VO XL IS 4 A1 Altonji, Joseph G. A1 Elder, Todd E. A1 Taber, Christopher R. YR 2005 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XL/4/791.abstract AB Several previous studies have relied on religious affiliation and the proximity to Catholic schools as exogenous sources of variation for identifying the effect of Catholic schooling on a wide variety of outcomes. Using three separate approaches, we examine the validity of these instrumental variables. We find that none of the candidate instruments is a useful source of identification in currently available data sets. We also investigate the role of exclusion restrictions versus nonlinearity as the source of identification in bivariate probit models. The analysis may be useful as a template for the assessment of instrumental variables strategies in other applications.