More Schools, Less Trouble? Competition and Schools’ Work Environment, Sweden 1999–2011

We bridge research on work environment and competition among schools using detailed data on complaints and incidents of disorder and violence in all Swedish schools 1999-2011. Findings suggest that competition is associated with lower levels of complaints across educational levels. For lower secondary schools, municipalities with high levels of school competition experience higher levels of violence in schools. To assess the causal effects of competition on work environment, we compare municipalities that have introduced competition with those that have not in a difference–in–difference framework, finding that only school complaints in upper secondary schools decrease after competition is introduced.