Outsourcing Education: Experimental Evidence from Liberia
Mauricio Romero, Justin Sandefur, Wayne Aaron Sandholtz
American Economic Review · 2020 · Volume 110 · Issue 2
Abstract
In 2016, the Liberian government delegated management of 93 randomly selected public schools to private providers. Providers received US$50 per pupil, on top of US$50 per pupil annual expenditure in control schools. After one academic year, students in outsourced schools scored 0.18σ higher in English and mathematics. We do not find heterogeneity in learning gains or enrollment by student characteristics, but there is significant heterogeneity across providers. While outsourcing appears to be a cost-effective way to use new resources to improve test scores, some providers engaged in unforeseen and potentially harmful behavior, complicating any assessment of welfare gains.
Keywords
Public Goods, Analysis of Education, Education: Government Policy, Economic Development: Human Resources, Human Development, Income Distribution, Migration
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.