Economic Modeling and Analysis of Educational Vouchers

The analysis of educational vouchers has evolved from market-based analogies to models that incorporate distinctive features of the educational environment. These distinctive features include peer effects, scope for private school pricing and admissions based on student characteristics, the linkage of household residential and school choices in multidistrict settings, the potential for rent seeking in public and private schools, the role of school reputations, incentives for student effort, and the intergenerational dynamics of human capital accumulation. Research has also elucidated features of voucher design, including income and ability targeting, restrictions on private school pricing and admissions, and the potential for garnering political support. We review these research advances.