The Relative Efficiency of Private and Public Schools: The Case of Thailand
分析了泰国公立和私立学校在提高八年级学生数学成绩方面的成本效益，发现私立学校平均更有效且成本更低，对教育政策制定有参考价值。
Cost-effectiveness is a key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of private schools in predominantly public school systems. This article analyzes the relative performance of public and private schools in Thailand in enhancing eighth grade student scores in standardized mathematics tests, given student background and school characteristics. Its main conclusion is that private schools are, on average, more effective and less costly than public schools in improving student performance in mathematics. The relative efficiency of private and public schools has been the subject of a recent lively exchange in the literature. The issue is important because it has implications for the way that the public sector should finance education: whether it should provide only free public education or whether it should also subsidize private schools. In the United States, the debate was sparked by the Coleman, Hoffer, and Kilgore (1982) report, which concluded that private (Catholic) schools are more effective than public schools in helping students acquire cognitive skills. In developing countries, where tightening fiscal con-