The impact of school choice and public policy on segregation: Evidence from Chile

Advocates argue that vouchers can make improved educational opportunity available to disadvantaged students. Critics contend that vouchers increase the risk of stratification. Researchers have found that Chile's voucher program has lead to increased socioeconomic school segregation. What has been overlooked, however, is segregation between schools within a sector and variation within private for-profit and non-profit school sectors. I find that public schools are more likely to serve disadvantaged students than private voucher schools. I also find that disadvantaged students are more segregated among private voucher schools than among public schools. While between and within sector segregation levels vary across private voucher school types, the differences are not always consistent with theory. The data also suggest that policies can either mitigate or exacerbate the stratifying effects of educational vouchers.

► Public schools are more likely to serve disadvantaged students than private voucher schools.
► Disadvantaged students are less segregated in the public sector than in the private voucher sector.
► For-profit schools are more likely to serve disadvantaged students than non-profit schools.
► Catholic schools enroll fewer disadvantaged students than public and other private voucher school sectors.
► Public policies that allow schools to charge tuition could exacerbate the effects of vouchers on segregation.