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Private Schooling: The US Context
Susan DynarskiUniversity of Michigan &
National Bureau of Economic Research
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1990 2007
Number Private Schools 24,700 27,500% Schools Private 23% 26%% Students in Private 12% 11%
Source: Digest of Education Statistics 20097
More Private Schools, Declining Share of Enrollment
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What is a Private School in the US? Funding is private
Parents pay tuition Schools may have endowments Religious schools traditionally subsidized by
church
Control over the school is private Schools set curriculum Students do not have to take state tests Minimal state control
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Half of Private Schools are Catholic
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Dollars Pounds
All Private $8,549 £5,728Catholic $6,018 £4,032Other Religious $7,117 £4,768Non-Sectarian $17,316 £11,602
Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2009 Table 59
Average Tuition Prices, 2007-08
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Fewer Racial Minorities in Private Schools
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Cheaper by the Dozen:Using Sibling Discounts at Catholic Schools
to Estimate the Price Elasticity of Private School Attendance
Susan Dynarski Jonathan Gruber Danielle LiMichigan & NBER MIT & NBER MIT
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Previous Literature Extensive research on effect of private schools on outcomes
Students in private schools have higher scores, more likely to complete secondary school and go to university
But little research on price sensitivity of private school attendance Hard nut to crack E.g., we may see private enrollments highest where tuition is
highest Does this mean higher tuition prices increase enrollment? No! High demand for private schools higher prices Low demand for private schools lower prices
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Exhibit 1 Example of Sibling Discounts
Two Schools in Columbus, Ohio Diocese School names are altered
Some Helpful Price Variation:Sibling Discounts
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Exploiting Sibling Discounts There is variation in tuition costs
1. across neighborhoods2. across family sizes (2 kids cost more than 1)3. within neighborhoods across family sizes
We focus only on the last source of variation in prices
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What do we find?
Increase tuition prices by 25% decrease in private enrollment of 5.2%
Elasticity: -0.22
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Heterogeneity in Effects What types of families are most sensitive
to price? Answer determines how a voucher would alter
sorting across public and private schools
We find that prices matter most for parents who are Nonwhite Less educated
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Charter Schools: A Public/Private Hybrid What are they?
Funding like public schools Freedoms like private schools
Curriculum, teacher hiring Enrollments
1990: zero 2010: 3.2%
Research shows oversubscribed schools large, positive effects on achievement Especially poor, nonwhite