Parents for Choice in Education was pleased to host international school choice expert David Seymour for a talk on June 13th about the economics of school choice, and about how our system compares to other systems around the world.
David noted that our system has been a leader in school choice for a long time, but that our system still has some problems, and also that other systems are catching up. He noted, for example, that our system generally has instructional dollars follow the student, but does not have capital dollars follow the student. He argued that capital dollars should also flow to schools and programs based on their ability to attract students - this ensures that schools have the resources to accommodate choice.
He also emphasized the importance of 'supply flexibility'. It's not enough to just let people go to whatever school they want if schools can't grow in response to student demand. Without that opportunity to grow, schools and programs will not be able to offer choice to more than a small number of students.
David referred oftern to a paper by Caroline Hoxby which explores the necessary features of an effective system of school choice. As promised at the event, here is a link to that article: nzinitiative.org.nz/site/nzbr/files/publications/school%20choice%20the%20three%20essential%20elements%20and%20several%20policy%20options%20-%202006%20b.pdf
Stay tuned for future exciting and interesting PCE events.