scholarly journals Peer Preferences, School Competition, and the Effects of Public School Choice

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 124-158
Author(s):  
Levon Barseghyan ◽  
Damon Clark ◽  
Stephen Coate
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Economic Model ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Competitive Pressure ◽  
School Competition ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Public School Choice

This paper develops a new economic model of public school choice. The key innovation is to model competition between schools in an environment in which parents have peer preferences. The analysis yields three main findings. First, peer preferences dampen schools’ incentives to exert effort in response to competitive pressure. Second, when peer preferences are sufficiently strong, choice can reduce social welfare. This is because choice is costly to exercise but aggregate peer quality is fixed. Third, given strong peer preferences, choice can reduce school quality in more affluent neighborhoods. We conclude that peer preferences weaken the case for choice. (JEL H73, H75, I21, I28, R23)

scholarly journals Multiple choice: How public school leaders in New Orleans's saturated market view private school competitors

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huriya Jabbar ◽  
Dongmei Li
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Competition ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
The Impact

School choice policies, such as charter schools and vouchers, are in part designed to induce competition between schools. While several studies have examined the impact of private school competition on public schools, few studies have explored school leaders’ perceptions of private school competitors. This study examines the extent to which public school leaders in New Orleans, which already has a robust public school choice system, perceived competition with private schools, and the characteristics that predicted competition between the two types of schools. We find that while over half of principals reported competing with private schools for students, there was a wide range of the number and percentage of possible competitors reported. Furthermore, the results suggest that school voucher policies did not play a major role in influencing why schools competed with private schools. In addition, public school leaders who did lose students to private schools through the voucher program reported that they often recouped those losses, when parents returned to public schools unsatisfied or facing additional unexpected costs. 

scholarly journals The Distributional Consequences of Public School Choice

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-152
Author(s):  
Christopher Avery ◽  
Parag A. Pathak
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
School Quality ◽  
Housing Prices ◽  
Residential Location ◽  
Residential Choice ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Distributional Consequences

School choice systems aspire to delink residential location and school assignments by allowing children to apply to schools outside of their neighborhood. However, choice programs also affect incentives to live in certain neighborhoods, and this feedback may undermine the goals of choice. We investigate this possibility by developing a model of public school and residential choice. School choice narrows the range between the highest and lowest quality schools compared to neighborhood assignment rules, and these changes in school quality are capitalized into equilibrium housing prices. This compressed distribution generates an ends-against-the-middle trade-off with school choice compared to neighborhood assignment. Paradoxically, even when choice results in improvement in the lowest-performing schools, the lowest type residents need not benefit. (JEL H75, I21, I28, R23, R31)

A Look Back: Taking stock of public school choice in Kappan

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Teresa Preston
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Alternative Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
Magnet Schools ◽  
Public School Choice ◽  
Look Back

In this monthly column, Kappan managing editor Teresa Preston explores how the magazine has covered the questions and controversies about school choice. Although many authors across the decades objected to the use of vouchers to pay private school tuition, those same authors lent support to the idea of choice among public schools. Advocates of public school choice have endorsed various models for providing choices, from alternative schools, to magnet schools, to charter schools.

A Geographic Analysis of Public-Private School Choice in South Carolina, USA

2012 ◽  
pp. 223-238
Author(s):  
Haifeng (Charlie) Zhang ◽  
Lorin W. Anderson ◽  
David J. Cowen ◽  
Lisle S. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Quality ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Public School Education

Despite years of research and debate, household choice between public and private schools is not well understood. This article investigates factors associated with parental choice between public and private schools using unique census-based school enrollment data for school districts in South Carolina and for neighborhoods in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. This study extends the existing literature by examining patterns of public-private school choice for whites and blacks separately in order to control racial disparities in school choice. Results of multiple regression analyses for the whole population and subdivided racial groups generally support the assumption that public-private school enrollment rate is subject to socioeconomic status, racial proportion, and public school quality. Findings of this study not only suggests the reconciliation of the market-based theory and the racial preference theory, but also provides insights into education policies in terms of stemming white enrollment losses and fostering public school education in the United States.

A Geographic Analysis of Public-Private School Choice in South Carolina, USA

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifeng (Charlie) Zhang ◽  
Lorin W. Anderson ◽  
David J. Cowen ◽  
Lisle S. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Public School ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Private Schools ◽  
Private School ◽  
School Quality ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Preference Theory

Despite years of research and debate, household choice between public and private schools is not well understood. This article investigates factors associated with parental choice between public and private schools using unique census-based school enrollment data for school districts in South Carolina and for neighborhoods in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. This study extends the existing literature by examining patterns of public-private school choice for whites and blacks separately in order to control racial disparities in school choice. Results of multiple regression analyses for the whole population and subdivided racial groups generally support the assumption that public-private school enrollment rate is subject to socioeconomic status, racial proportion, and public school quality. Findings of this study not only suggests the reconciliation of the market-based theory and the racial preference theory, but also provides insights into education policies in terms of stemming white enrollment losses and fostering public school education in the United States.

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