The paper tests whether native-born American families respond to inflows of immigrants by sending their children to private school.  The analysis uses 1980 and 1990 Census data from 132 metropolitan areas.  For primary school students, no significant relation between immigration and...

Using a recently released confidential dataset from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), we find some evidence of "white flight" from public schools into private schools partly in response to minority schoolchildren.  We also examine whether "white flight" is from all...

Several recent studies provide evidence that the choice between private and public school among white students is influenced by the racial composition of the local student population.  None of these studies, however, examines whether Latinos are also fleeing to private schools in response to...

Using 1990 Census microdata, we explore ethnic, racial and immigrant differences in private school attendance.  We find high rates of private school attendance among white natives, white immigrants, and Asian natives.  In contrast, we find low private school rates among black and Hispanic...

Using a recently released confidential dataset from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), we find some evidence of "white flight" from public schools into private schools partly in response to minority schoolchildren. We also examine whether "white flight" is from all minorities...

Computers are an important part of modern education, yet many schoolchildren lack access to a computer at home. We test whether this impedes educational achievement by conducting the largest-ever field experiment that randomly provides free home computers to students. Although computer ownership...

Access to information may represent an important barrier to learning about and ultimately transferring to 4-year colleges for low-income community college students.  This paper explores the role that access to information technology, in particular, plays in enhancing, or possibly detracting...

This paper focuses on the deep transformation of the Portuguese state under democracy and charts the development of very substantial welfare state. It examines the very substantial investments in social protection, social transfers, education and health and finds remarkable results in some areas...