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Do Parents Know Best?: The Short and Long-Run Effects of Attending The Schools that Parents Prefer

Author

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  • Beuermann, Diether
  • Jackson, C. Kirabo

Abstract

Recent studies document that, in many cases, the schools that parents prefer over others do not improve student test scores. This could be because (a) parents cannot discern schools causal impacts, and/or (b) parents value schools that improve outcomes not well-measured by test scores. To shed light on this, we employ administrative and survey data from Barbados. Using discrete choice models, we document that most parents have strong preferences for the same schools. Using a regression-discontinuity design, we estimate the causal impact of attending a preferred school on a broad array of outcomes. As found in other settings, more preferred schools have better peers, but do not improve short-run test scores. However, for females, these schools confer long-run benefits including reduced teen pregnancy, more educational attainment, increased employment, higher earnings, and improved health. In contrast, for males, the effects are mixed. The pattern for females is consistent with parents valuing school impacts on outcomes not well-measured by test scores, while the pattern for males is consistent with parents being unable to identify schools’ causal impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Beuermann, Diether & Jackson, C. Kirabo, 2018. "Do Parents Know Best?: The Short and Long-Run Effects of Attending The Schools that Parents Prefer," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9083, Inter-American Development Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:9083
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001289
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastian Gallegos & Pablo Celhay, 2020. "Early Skill Effects on Types of Parental Investments and Long-Run Outcomes," Working Papers 2020-014, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Diether W Beuermann & C Kirabo Jackson & Laia Navarro-Sola & Francisco Pardo, 2023. "What is a Good School, and Can Parents Tell? Evidence on the Multidimensionality of School Output," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 65-101.
    3. Kaiser, Tim & Lusardi, Annamaria & Menkhoff, Lukas & Urban, Carly, 2022. "Financial education affects financial knowledge and downstream behaviors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 255-272.
    4. TANAKA Mari & NARITA Yusuke & MORIGUCHI Chiaki, 2020. "Meritocracy and Its Discontent: Long-run Effects of Repeated School Admission Reforms," Discussion papers 20002, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    5. Naveen Kumar, 2019. "Public Schools Can Improve Student Outcomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India," 2019 Papers pku634, Job Market Papers.
    6. Kumar, G. Naveen, 2023. "Improving public school productivity: Evidence from model schools in India," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Doris, Aedin & O'Neill, Donal & Sweetman, Olive, 2019. "Good Schools or Good Students? The Importance of Selectivity for School Rankings," IZA Discussion Papers 12459, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2018. "Does School Spending Matter? The New Literature on an Old Question," NBER Working Papers 25368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. W. Bentley MacLeod & Miguel Urquiola, 2018. "Is Education Consumption or Investment? Implications for the Effect of School Competition," NBER Working Papers 25117, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Barbados; Peer Quality; School Preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

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