The literature suggests that competition among schools might increase quality. However, not much empirical evidence is present as only a few countries allow competition at a large scale. One exception is the Netherlands. Free parental choice is the leading principle of the Dutch education system since the beginning of the 20th century. Based on panel data for the Netherlands we show that there is a relation between competition and student achievement in upper secondary education, but that it is negative. In addition, private schools have higher quality levels.

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Tinbergen Institute
hdl.handle.net/1765/14053
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper Series
Discussion paper / Tinbergen Institute
Tinbergen Institute

Dijkgraaf, E., van der Geest, S., Gradus, R., & de Jong, M. (2008). School Choice and Competition (No. TI 2008-109/3). Discussion paper / Tinbergen Institute. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/14053