School voucher programs (a.k.a. opportunity scholarships) are scholarship programs - frequently government funded - that pay for students to attend private schools of their choice. Many private school vouchers programs have been initiated around the world with the goal of increasing the academic...

In this report we examine crime rates for young adults who experienced Milwaukee's citywide voucher program as high school students and a comparable group of their peers who had been public school students. Using unique data collected as part of a longitudinal evaluation of the program, we...

We employ probit regression analysis to compare the adult voting activity of students who participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to their matched public school counterparts. We use a sophisticated matching algorithm to create a traditional public school student comparison...

Using data from the most recent (2015-16) round of Private School Universe Survey, I examine the types of private schools that decide to participate in school voucher programs in seven locations. Regression analysis indicates that more specialized private schools are less likely to participate...

We employ school and year fixed-effects regression to determine the effect of voucher programs on the supply of private schools. In particular, we examine individual private schools in Washington, D.C., Indiana, and Louisiana as they transition into voucher program environments. We leverage the...

Twenty-five years ago, Sweden enacted the most ambitious school choice policy seen in the Western world, allowing families to select any school regardless of their residence and independent providers to open new Free Schools after satisfying some general regulatory requirements. This made...

Background. Randomized Controlled Trials are the “gold-standard” for estimating causal impacts of education programs. They are not always feasible, however, and may not generalize to the population of interest. Generally, researchers cannot measure selection bias in quasi-experimental...

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) is a school voucher initiative targeted to disadvantaged students in the US Capital. Vouchers worth up to $7,500 annually are awarded by lottery to students with family incomes near or below the federal poverty line. Students can...

The primary legacy of Senator James G. Blaine of Maine was the enshrinement of "anti-aid" amendments in the constitutions of 39 U.S. states. These so-called "Blaine Amendments" prohibit government funds from supporting "sectarian" schools and often religious organizations. In Blaine's day,...