Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment
- (pp. 1535-1558)
Abstract
Colombia used lotteries to distribute vouchers which partially covered the cost of private secondary school for students who maintained satisfactory academic progress. Three years after the lotteries, winners were about 10 percentage points more likely to have finished 8th grade, primarily because they were less likely to repeat grades, and scored 0.2 standard deviations higher on achievement tests. There is some evidence that winners worked less than losers and were less likely to marry or cohabit as teenagers. Benefits to participants likely exceeded the $24 per winner additional cost to the government of supplying vouchers instead of public-school places.Citation
Angrist, Joshua, Eric Bettinger, Erik Bloom, Elizabeth King, and Michael Kremer. 2002. "Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment ." American Economic Review, 92 (5): 1535-1558. DOI: 10.1257/000282802762024629Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I22 Educational Finance; Financial Aid
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- I28 Education: Government Policy