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Designing school choice mechanisms: A structural model and demand estimation

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  • Zhiyi Xu
  • Robert G. Hammond

Abstract

Designing the markets that allocate public school seats is a crucial policy consideration. This paper compares the design of school choice mechanisms in terms of economic efficiency, stability, and strategic behavior. We estimate demand for schools using data from a large US public school system with novel indicators of students' levels of strategic sophistication. We find important benefits of reserving a set of seats to be assigned by a pure lottery. In settings that share features in common with the school system we study, our findings suggest that non‐selective criteria such as lotteries induce a large increase in truth‐telling.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhiyi Xu & Robert G. Hammond, 2024. "Designing school choice mechanisms: A structural model and demand estimation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 505-524, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:62:y:2024:i:2:p:505-524
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13193
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    References listed on IDEAS

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