What is it about?
Assumptions matter when estimating scale economies We offer two flexible estimation methods Classical approaches overestimate the gains of larger school districts
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Why is it important?
Policy makers tend to favor consolidations in education, built on the premise of large cost savings. This paper illustrates that the estimated cost savings strongly depend on the model used to estimate them. Therefore, a more flexible should be used.
Perspectives
Through this article, we want to demonstrate that assumptions matter when estimating scale economies in education. In the application at hand, policy implications are altered substantially when a different set of assumptions is chosen. Therefore, we suggest practitioners compare different methods and add nuance when drawing conclusions. R and Stata codes are available upon request to facilitate the use of the proposed methods.
Fritz Schiltz
Associatie KU Leuven
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Estimating scale economies and the optimal size of school districts: A flexible form approach, British Educational Research Journal, October 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/berj.3312.
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