School Performance, Score Inflation, and Neighborhood Development

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Battistin, Erich; Neri, Lorenzo
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park; IZA Institute Labor Economics; University of St Andrews; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/725001
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 753-792
• 关键词: parental valuation; COMPETITION; preferences; INFORMATION; QUALITY; MARKETS; prices; grade

摘要

We show that score inflation yields residential sorting around what households expect to be better schools, with long-term consequences for the economic geography of neighborhoods. We consider primary school exams in England, where grading standards have triggered an inflation of indicators in the national performance tables since the mid-1990s. Local neighborhoods were gentrified because of school improvements artificially signaled by score inflation. Competition between schools increased, yielding a real improvement in their quality. Effects of score inflation on house prices, deprivation, and local economic activities are identifiable through to the present day.