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Educational Vouchers: The Case for Public Choice Reconsidered
Author(s) -
Waring Jim
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
public budgeting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1540-5850
pISSN - 0275-1100
DOI - 10.1111/1540-5850.01077
Subject(s) - voucher , compromise , school choice , equity (law) , competition (biology) , public economics , position (finance) , argument (complex analysis) , economics , political science , public relations , law , medicine , finance , accounting , ecology , biology
Parental choice and operational efficiency are the key features proponents use to promote the desirability of educational voucher programs. The argument is that educational vouchers increase competition among schools by allowing parents the freedom to choose which schools their children attend. In turn, competition improves the performance of individual schools. This article argues that, as currently put forth, the case for vouchers minimizes the special position of public schools with respect to their equity goals. Equity, arguably, has been one of the most significant tenets of public education policy in the last half‐century. Moreover, vouchers have significant hidden costs that could compromise any efficiency.