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1. The Other Lottery: Are Philanthropists Backing the Best Charter Schools?

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The central problem confronting education systems around the world is not that we lack models of excellence; it is our inability to routinely replicate those models. In other fields, we take for granted an endless cycle of innovation and productivity growth that continually makes products and services better, more affordable, or both. That cycle has not manifested itself in education. Brilliant teachers and high-performing schools can be found in every state and nation, but, like floating candles, they flicker in isolation, failing to touch off a larger blaze.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Markets

2. The Effects of Teachers Unions on American Education

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Public school employee unions are politically partisan and polarizing institutions. Of the National Education Association's $30 million in federal campaign contributions since 1990, 93 percent has gone to Democrats or the Democratic Party. Of the $26 million in federal campaign contributions by the American Federation of Teachers, 99 percent has gone to Democrats or the Democratic Party (Center for Responsive Politics 2009). Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, conservatives and Republicans have often accused these unions of simultaneously raising the cost and lowering the quality of American public schools. Many advocates of charter schools, vouchers, and education tax credits have cited union political influence as the greatest impediment to their chosen reforms. But in academic circles, scholars have sometimes disagreed on the unions' impact on wages and educational productivity. The purpose of the present review is to summarize, and attempt to reconcile, the empirical research on the actual impact teachers unions have on American education.
Topic:
Education and Reform
Political Geography:
America

3. Do Vouchers and Tax Credits Increase Private School Regulation?

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
School voucher and education tax credit programs have proliferated in the United States over the past two decades. Advocates have argued that they will enable families to become active consumers in a free and competitive education marketplace, but some fear that these programs may in fact bring with them a heavy regulatory burden that could stifle market forces. Until now, there has been no systematic, empirical investigation of that concern. The present paper aims to shed light on the issue by quantifying the regulations imposed on private schools both within and outside school choice programs, and then analyzing them with descriptive statistics and regression analyses. The results are tested for robustness to alternative ways of quantifying private school regulation, and to alternative regression models, and the question of causality is addressed. The study concludes that vouchers, but not tax credits, impose a substantial and statistically significant additional regulatory burden on participating private schools.
Topic:
Education, Government, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States

4. Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes for American children? That question cannot be answered by looking at domestic evidence alone. Though innumerable “school choice” programs have been implemented around the United States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace. Existing programs are 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 25 years of international research comparing market and government provision of education, and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to the United States.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Government, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States

5. The Fiscal Impact of a Large-Scale Education Tax Credit Program

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In this paper we estimate the budgetary impact of the Cato Institute's Public Education Tax Credit model legislation on five states and presents a generalized spreadsheet tool (“the Fiscal Impact Calculator”) that can estimate the program's effect on any other state for which the necessary input data are supplied. It is estimated that, in its first 10 years of operation, savings from the PETC program would range from $1.1 billion for South Carolina to $15.9 billion for Texas. Illinois, Wisconsin, and New York are estimated to enjoy 10-year savings within that range.
Topic:
Education and Government
Political Geography:
United States and New York

6. Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes forAmerican children?That question cannot be answered by looking at domestic evidence alone. Though innumerable “school choice” programs have been implemented around theUnited States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace. Existing programs are too small, too restriction laden, or both. To understand how genuine market forces affect school performance, wemust cast a wider net, surveying education systems from all over the globe. The present paper undertakes such a review, assessing the results of 25 years of international research comparing market and government provision of education, and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to theUnited States.
Topic:
Education and Government
Political Geography:
United States

7. Cato Education Market Index Full Technical Report

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The index presented in this report attempts to measure how closely existing school systems resemble free markets and rates education policy proposals on how conducive they are to the rise of competitive marketplaces. We define an education market as a system that provides the freedom for producers and consumers to voluntarily associate with one another, as well as the incentives that encourage families to be diligent consumers and educators to innovate, control costs, and expand their services. It is a system in which schools can offer instruction in any subject, using any method, for which families are willing to pay.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Markets

8. The Cato Education Market Index

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The index presented in this report attempts to measure how closely existing school systems resemble free markets and rates education policy proposals on how conducive they are to the rise of competitive marketplaces. We define an education market as a system that provides the freedom for producers and consumers to voluntarily associate with one another, as well as the incentives that encourage families to be diligent consumers and educators to innovate, control costs, and expand their services. It is a system in which schools can offer instruction in any subject, using any method, for which families are willing to pay.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Markets

9. Toward Market Education: Are Vouchers or Tax Credits the Better Path?

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Education markets have consistently done a better job than state monopolies of serving both our individual needs and our communal goals. Yet all market-inspired education reforms are not intrinsically or uniformly effective. They can succeed only to the extent that they support the conditions for a thriving education market and ensure that all families have access to that market.
Topic:
Education and Government