The relative effectiveness of private and public schools: evidence from Kenya

ABSTRACT

This paper estimates the relative effectiveness of private and public primary schools in Kenya using data from 4,433 Grade 6 schoolchildren. Using ordinary least squares as a baseline model, we use the proportion of private schools in a district as an instrument in a Heckman two-stage correction framework, as well as propensity score matching models to correct for selection bias. There is a positive private school effect across all models. In the corrected models, we find that private school pupils outperform their public school counterparts by between .24 and .52 standard deviations.

KEYWORDS:

• Private schools
• Kenya
• Heckman two-stage
• propensity score
• school choice

Disclosure statement

This research did not receive any specific grants from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. There are no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. Oketch, Mutisya, Ngware, and Ezeh (2010) observe over-enrollment in slum schools with electricity and piped water.

2. Availability of private schooling is heterogeneous across Kenya’s provinces, with shares of private participation ranging from less than 1% to 39%: North Eastern (39.4%), Central (21.7%), Nairobi (18.8%), Coast (13.1%), Eastern (4.6%), Western (4.3%), Rift Valley (2.4%), and Nyanza (0.4%).

3. For a more formalized discussion of the SACMEQ 2007 sampling strategy, see Wasanga, Ogle, and Wambua (2012).

4. The mean is slightly higher than 500 due to data cleaning.

5. Measures of school infrastructure included condition of school facilities as well as presence of certain school resources, including: a fence, garden, sports area, phone, and website.

6. Standard deviations for math and reading scores are 92.9 and 100.1 points, respectively.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Donald R. Baum

Donald R. Baum is an Assistant Professor of Education Policy at Brigham Young University. His research focuses on the involvement of the private sector in education, on the delivery and provision of pre-primary education, as well as on issues of teacher and school quality, incentives, and accountability in low-income countries. He holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Comparative and International Development Education.

Isaac Riley

Isaac Riley is a student in the BYU Economics Department and a research assistant in the Economics and Education departments. His research interests include education, development, and behavioral economics.