Andrew J. Coulson

Journal of School Choice 3:31-54

2009

Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes for American children?  This question cannot be reliably answered by looking exclusively at domestic evidence, much less by looking exclusively at existing “school choice” programs.  Though many such programs have been implemented around the United States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace, being too small, too restriction laden, or both.  To understand how genuine market forces affect school performance, we must cast a wider net, surveying education systems from all over the globe.  The present paper undertakes such a review, assessing the results of decades of international research comparing market and government provision of education and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to the United States.

The full paper can be accessed here.

Eileen Norcross, Jerrod Anderson, and Johann van der Walt

Mercatus Center

Mercatus on Policy No. 68

February 2010

Excerpt: Competition is not a state of affairs; it is a process that is defined not by the number of competitors in a market, but by the ease with which potential competitors can enter the market.  Instead of introducing competition, federal funding will likely continue to homogenize state education policy rather than encourage flexibility, greater responsiveness, and diversity.

The complete report can be accessed here.