School choice with independent versus consolidated districts

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Klein, Thilo; Aue, Robert; Ortega, Josue
• 署名单位: Leibniz Association; Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW); Queens University Belfast
• 刊物名称: GAMES AND ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0899-8256
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2024.07.003
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 170-205
• 关键词: District consolidation; school choice

摘要

This paper studies the welfare effects of school district consolidation. Using incomplete rank- ordered lists (ROLs) submitted for admission to the Hungarian secondary school system, we estimate complete ROLs assuming that parents do not use dominated strategies and that the matching outcome is stable. These estimates aid in constructing a counterfactual district-based assignment and discerning the factors driving parents' preferences over schools. We find that district consolidation leads to large welfare gains in Budapest, equivalent to students attending a school five kilometres closer to their residences. These gains offset the additional travel distances incurred in the consolidated assignment. 73% of matched students benefit from district consolidation, while fewer than 3% are assigned to a less preferred school. Students from smaller and less under-demanded districts benefit relatively more, as well as those with high academic ability. Using reported preferences instead of estimated ones also yields large gains from district consolidation.