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Pulled-in and Crowded-out: Heterogeneous Outcomes of Merit-based School Choice

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  • Dalla-Zuanna, A.
  • Liu, K.
  • Salvanes, K.

Abstract

We analyze the effect of reforming the high school admission system from a residence based allocation to a merit-based allocation. The merit-based system generates oversubscribed schools, which favor high-GPA students at the expense of displacing low-GPA ones. We use the potential outcomes framework to analyze the effect of the reform, separating the effects for those gaining access to competitive schools from those losing access and identifying these parameters by using the reform as an instrument within subpopulations defined by admission cutoffs and GPA. The small and negative overall effect of the reform hides large negative effects for the crowded-out students.

Suggested Citation

  • Dalla-Zuanna, A. & Liu, K. & Salvanes, K., 2023. "Pulled-in and Crowded-out: Heterogeneous Outcomes of Merit-based School Choice," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2328, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:2328
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crowded-out; school allocation; treatment effects; conditional monotonicity.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General

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