A substantial literature indicates that the public school system in the United States is inefficient. Some have posited that this inefficiency arises from a lack of competition in the education market. On the other hand, the Tiebout hypothesis suggests that public schools may already face...

Traditionally, economists offer three broad rationales for government participation in education--market failure, externalities, and altruism. In this article, Lori Taylor describes the three rationales, discusses the economic evidence in their support, and examines their major implications for...

Popular wisdom and economic research suggest that the quality of the neighborhood school should be an important determinant of housing values. Many researchers have found that housing values are higher where school spending or student test scores are higher. However, few economists consider...

A preponderance of economic evidence demonstrates that the public school system in the United States is less efficient than it could be. However, few researchers have examined the economic consequences of such inefficiency. Lori Taylor finds that, although school inefficiency can crowd out...

This study examines how minimum wage laws affect the employment and earnings of low-skilled immigrants and natives in the U.S. Minimum wage increases might have larger effects among low-skilled immigrants than among natives because, on average, immigrants earn less than natives due to lower...