Experiment: Airlift 50,000 Yemini Jews to Israel and randomly place them with Israeli families.
Finding: Nuture matters. “We find that children who were placed in a good environment (a home with good sanitary conditions, in a city, and outside of an ethnic enclave) were more likely to achieve positive long-term outcomes. They were more likely to obtain higher education, marry at an older age, have fewer children, work at age 55, be more assimilated into Israeli society, be less religious, and have more worldly tastes in music and food…We find weaker and somewhat mixed effects on health outcomes…”
H.T.: Marginal Revolution
- On a side note: Malawach is a very tasty traditional dish among Yemini Jews. With the Yemini airlift, it’s become a favorite comfort food in Israel. I sampled this dish in a Yemini restaurant in L.A.