The impact of attending an independent upper secondary school

Evidence from Sweden using school ranking data

Bibliographic Data

ID21506533
AuthorsKarin Edmark (0000-0002-5629-5499, Stockholm University, corresponding author), Lovisa Persson (0000-0002-2988-6226, Research Institute of Industrial Economics)
Year2021
Volume84
Pages102148
Publication date2021-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomics of Education Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0272-7757 • E-ISSN: 1873-7382
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.econedurev.2021.102148
OpenAlexW3155834839
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

Since the 1990s, the Swedish education market has gone through a dramatic transformation due to the introduction of voucher-funded independent schools. We make use of data on school applications to condition on student preferences for independent versus public education, and estimate a positive relationship between independent upper secondary school attendance and grades, graduation rates, and post-secondary education. We however also find strong indications of more lenient grading standards in independent schools, especially in schools organized as for-profit entities and in schools with a low share of qualified teachers. Our results suggest that, although independent school attendance seems to benefit the individual students in terms of higher grades and increased transition to post-secondary studies, grade inflation in the Swedish upper secondary independent schools may be a serious problem

Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economics · Mathematics education · Regression analysis · Regression discontinuity design · School district · Statistics · Computer Science · Engineering · Mathematics · Psychology · School Choice and Performance

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