The Economics of School Choice

Now that the US Supreme Court has declared school voucher programs constitutional, the question of what the effects of school choice will be becomes especially pressing. Contributors to this volume draw on state-of-the-art economic methods to investigate how school choice affects a wide range of issues. Combining the results of empirical research with analyses of the basic economic forces underlying local educational markets, this book presents evidence concerning the impact of school choice on student achievement, school productivity, teachers, and special education. It also tackles difficult questions such as whether school choice affects where people decide to live and how choice can be integrated into a system of school financing that gives children from different backgrounds equal access to resources. Contributors discuss the latest findings on Florida's school choice program as well as voucher programs and charter schools in several other states. Revealing the promise of school choice, this book also examines its pitfalls and shows how to design programs that avoid them.