School Choice in Chile: Looking at the Demand Side

How do parents choose among schools when they are allowed to do so? In this paper, we analyze detailed information of 70,000 fourth-graders attending about 1,200 publicly subsidized schools in the context of the Chilean voucher system. We model the school choice of a household as a discrete choice of a single school, based on the random utility model developed by McFadden (1974) and the specification of Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995), which includes choice-specific unobservable characteristics and deals with potential endogeneity. Our results imply that households value some attributes of schools, with the two most important dimensions being test scores and distance to school. Interestingly, at the same time, our results suggest there is a lot of heterogeneity in preferences because the valuation of most school attributes depend on household characteristics. In particular, we find that while proximity to school is an inferior attribute, test scores is a normal attribute. We present evidence that our results are mainly driven by self-selection and not by school-side selection. As a nal check, we compute the average enrollment elasticity with respect to all school attributes and find that higher elasticities are correlated with higher supply of the attribute, especially in the case of test scores-enrollment elasticities for private schools.School choice, Chile, vouchers, structural estimates, parental preferences

I would walk 500 miles (if it paid)

One of the pillars of the educational voucher system instituted in Chile is that competition among schools to attract students would improve the quality of the education provided. Surveys have suggested that families rank the distance of the school from their home as the most important factor for choosing a school. They also suggest that parents largely ignore the results of standardized tests. We use a novel data set which includes measures of the distance between homes and schools to analyze the determinants of school choice. Economic theory suggests, and the estimations confirm, that parents consider quality of the school and its location when choosing schools. The paper quantifies the relevant trade-offs.Vouchers; School Choice; Distance; Chile

Reconstructing the question of school choice : towards a geographical agent-based model for Chile

The aim of this paper is to reformulate the question of school choice in a voucher system, by moving towards a perspective, assessing competition between schools and the choice of students using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM). How spatial structure affects competition among schools? How do socio-geographic structuration and social interaction affect this process? We show a preview of the proposed model and main social mechanisms of school choice: Quality, Distance, Cost, Expectations, Homophily and Mimesis for students and their families, and Selection, Supply and Local Competition for schools

Equity and Achievement in the Chilean School Choice Experience

The aim of this paper is to analyze, using a hierarchical linear model, the degree to which a system of choice, as the one implemented in Chile since the beginning of the 80’s, can promote student achievement and equity in the social distribution of achievement. Using data from a standardized achievement test including 226,860 4tth degree students and 4,949 schools, we investigate the association between students’ SES and achievement, within and between schools. We also investigate up to what extent different categories of schools enjoy advantages in educating low-income students. These are important issues because unlike the limited vouchers programs in the US, Chile has had a nationwide school choice program for more than 20 yearseducation vouchers, achievement, equity,

Is there real freedom of school choice? An analysis from Chile

Between 1981 and 1990, Chile began to implement an education reform based on school choice and a financing system through vouchers. In theory, the System ensures complete freedom of choice of school by families. This paper attempts to identify the existence of factors that conditioned the enrolment process in the different types of schools existing nowadays in the Chilean educational system, the largest quasi-market of Latin America. Results show a social stratification and separation by schools and indicate how geographical distance and social composition are the most critical factors for families when choosing a school

The effects of lengthening the school day on female labor supply: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in Chile

In 1996, the Chilean government approved the extension of the school day, increasing the amount of time that students spend at school by 30%. Using data from the Chilean socio- economic household survey and administrative data from the Ministry of Education for 1990- 2006, we exploit the quasi-experimental nature of the reform’s implementation by time and region in order to identify the causal impact of the program on labor participation, employment and hours worked for women between 20 and 65 years old. The identification strategy relies on a fixed effect model of repeated cross-section. The results show a positive and significant effect on labor participation and female employment in all age groups and a negative and statistically significant effect on the number of hours worked. The main conclusion of this study is that the implicit childcare subsidy induced by the program had a positive and significant impact on the labor supply of women in Chile.Female labor supply; childcare; fertility; labor supply; Chile.

Children's daily travel to school in Johannesburg-Soweto, South Africa: geography and school choice in the Birth to Twenty cohort study

This paper has two aims: to explore approaches to the measurement of children’s daily travel to school in a context of limited geospatial data availability, and to provide data regarding school choice and distance travelled to school in Soweto-Johannesburg, South Africa. The paper makes use of data from the Birth to Twenty cohort study (n=1428) to explore three different approaches to estimating school choice and travel to school. Firstly, straight-line distance between home and school is calculated. Secondly, census geography is used to determine whether a child's home and school fall in the same area. Thirdly, distance data are used to determine whether a child attends the nearest school. Each of these approaches highlights a different aspect of mobility, and all provide valuable data. Overall, primary school aged children in Soweto-Johannesburg are shown to be travelling substantial distances to school on a daily basis. Over a third travel more than 3km, one-way, to school, 60% attend schools outside of the suburb in which they live, and only 18% attend their nearest school. These data provide evidence for high levels of school choice in Johannesburg-Soweto, and that families and children are making substantial investments in pursuit of high quality educational opportunities. Additionally, these data suggest that two patterns of school choice are evident: one pattern involving travel of substantial distances and requiring a higher level of financial investment, and a second pattern, involving choice between more local schools, requiring less travel and a more limited financial investment

Dismal Science: The Shortcomings of U.S. School Choice Research and How to Address Them

Pressing questions about the merits of market accountability in K-12 education have spawned a large scholarly literature. Unfortunately, much of that literature is of limited relevance, and some of it is misleading. The studies most widely cited in the United States used intense scrutiny of a few small-scale, restriction-laden U.S. programs -- and a handful of larger but still restriction-laden foreign school choice expansions -- to assert general conclusions about the effects of "choice," "competition," and "markets." The most intensely studied programs lack most or all of the key elements of market systems, including profit, price change, market entry, and product differentiation -- factors that are normally central to any discussion of market effects. In essence, researchers have drawn conclusions about apples by studying lemons. To address the need for credible evidence on the effects of genuine education markets, economists should look to simulation models, indirect evidence such as outcomes in similar industries, and school systems abroad that enjoy varying degrees of market accountability

When Schools Compete, How Do They Compete? An Assessment of Chile's Nationwide School Voucher Program

In 1981, Chile introduced nationwide school choice by providing vouchers to any student wishing to attend private school. As a result, more than 1,000 private schools entered the market, and the private enrollment rate increased by 20 percentage points, with greater impacts in larger, more urban, and wealthier communities. We use this differential impact to measure the effects of unrestricted choice on educational outcomes. Using panel data for about 150 municipalities, we find no evidence that choice improved average educational outcomes as measured by test scores, repetition rates, and years of schooling. However, we find evidence that the voucher program led to increased sorting, as the best' public school students left for the private sector.