1. Private Schooling: The US Context Susan Dynarski University of Michigan & National Bureau of Economic Research

2. 19902007 Number Private Schools24,70027,500 % Schools Private23%26% % Students in Private12%11% Source: Digest of Education Statistics 20097 More Private Schools, Declining Share of Enrollment

3. 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

4. Half of Private Schools are Catholic

5. DollarsPounds All Private$8,549 £ 5,728 Catholic$6,018 £ 4,032 Other Religious$7,117 £ 4,768 Non-Sectarian$17,316 £ 11,602 Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2009 Table 59 Average Tuition Prices, 2007-08

6. Fewer Racial Minorities in Private Schools

7. Cheaper by the Dozen: Using Sibling Discounts at Catholic Schools to Estimate the Price Elasticity of Private School Attendance Susan DynarskiJonathan GruberDanielle Li Michigan & NBER MIT & NBERMIT

8. 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

9. Some Helpful Price Variation: Sibling Discounts

14. Exploiting Sibling Discounts  There is variation in tuition costs 1. across neighborhoods 2. 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

15. What do we find?  Increase tuition prices by 25%  decrease in private enrollment of 5.2%  Elasticity: -0.22

16. 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

17. 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