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What determines private school choice? a comparison between the UK and Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Lorraine Dearden

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)

  • Chris Ryan

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Luke Sibieta

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

This paper compares patterns of private school attendance in the UK and Australia. About 6.5% of school children in the UK attend a private school, while 33% do so in Australia. We use comparable household panel data from the two countries to model attendance at a private school at age 15 or 16 as a function of household income and other child and parental characteristics. As one might expect, we observe a strong effect of household income on private school attendance. The addition of other household characteristics reduces this income elasticity, and reveals a strong degree of intergenerational transmission in both countries, with children being 8 percentage points more likely to attend a private school if one of their parents attended one in the UK, and anywhere up to 20 percentage points more likely in Australia. The analysis also reveals significant effects of parental education level, political preferences, religious background and the number of siblings on private school attendance.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorraine Dearden & Chris Ryan & Luke Sibieta, 2010. "What determines private school choice? a comparison between the UK and Australia," IFS Working Papers W10/22, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:10/22
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    File URL: http://www.ifs.org.uk/wps/wp1022.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dennis Epple & Richard Romano, 2008. "Educational Vouchers And Cream Skimming," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1395-1435, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Glen & Joseph G. Nellis, 2010. "“The Price You Pay”: The Impact of State-Funded Secondary School Performance on Residential Property Values in England," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 57(4), pages 405-428, December.

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