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Does Greater School Autonomy Make a Difference? Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment in South Korea

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  • Youjin Hahn
  • Liang Choon Wang
  • Hee-Seung Yang

Abstract

We study the effects of school autonomy using a randomized natural experiment in Seoul. Private and public schools subject to the equalization policy in Seoul admit students assigned randomly to them, receive equal government funding, charge identical fees, and use similar curricula, while private schools have greater flexibility in personnel decisions, and their principals and teachers face stronger incentives to perform. We find that private high schools have on average fewer violent incidents per student, a higher four-year college entrance rate, and better test scores. The effects appear to channel through the within-school dispersions of teacher salary and types.

Suggested Citation

  • Youjin Hahn & Liang Choon Wang & Hee-Seung Yang, 2014. "Does Greater School Autonomy Make a Difference? Evidence from a Randomized Natural Experiment in South Korea," Monash Economics Working Papers 48-14, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:mos:moswps:2014-48
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    1. Islam, Asad & Pakrashi, Debayan & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Wang, Liang Choon, 2021. "Stigma and misconceptions in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: A field experiment in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    2. Booth, Alison & Lee, Jungmin, 2021. "Girls’ and boys’ performance in competitions: What we can learn from a Korean quiz show," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 431-447.
    3. Wang, Liang Choon, 2015. "All work and no play? The effects of ability sorting on students’ non-school inputs, time use, and grade anxiety," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 29-41.
    4. Lee, Youngju & Nakazawa, Nobuhiko, 2022. "Does single-sex schooling help or hurt labor market outcomes? Evidence from a natural experiment in South Korea," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    5. Perera, Liyanage Devangi H. & Asadullah, M. Niaz, 2019. "Mind the gap: What explains Malaysia’s underperformance in Pisa?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 254-263.
    6. Eleanor Jawon Choi & Hyungsik Roger Moon & Geert Ridder, 2019. "Within-District School Lotteries, District Selection, and the Average Partial Effects of School Inputs," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 35, pages 275-306.
    7. Booth, Alison & Lee, Jungmin, 2019. "Girls’ and Boys’ Performance in Competitions: What We Can Learn from a Korean Quiz Show," CEPR Discussion Papers 13552, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Dustmann, Christian & Ku, Hyejin & Kwak, Do Won, 2018. "Why Are Single-Sex Schools Successful?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 79-99.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Private schools; public schools; randomization; school autonomy; wage dispersion; workforce heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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