Vouchers for Basic Education in Developing Countries : A Principal-Agent Perspective

Voucher programs consist of three simultaneous reforms: (1) allowing parents to choose schools, (2) creating intense incentives for schools to increase enrollment, and (3) granting schools management autonomy to respond to demand. As a result, vouc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Gauri, Varun, Vawda, Ayesha
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:	VOUCHERS BASIC EDUCATION PARENT SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP INCENTIVES SCHOOL ENROLLMENT SCHOOL MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE RISK AVERSION MONITORING & EVALUATION PRIVATE SCHOOLS PRINCIPAL-AGENT MODEL BIAS (ECONOMICS) COMPENSATION SYSTEMS ABSENTEEISM ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ACHIEVEMENT ACHIEVEMENT SCORES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BIRTH RATE CHARTER SCHOOLS COLLEGE ADMISSIONS COMMUNITY GRANTS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT CURRICULA DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISADVANTAGED GROUPS DISCRIMINATION DROPPING OUT EDUCATION OUTCOMES EDUCATION REFORM EDUCATION SECTOR EDUCATION SYSTEM EDUCATION SYSTEMS EDUCATIONAL ACCESS EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS EDUCATIONAL INPUTS EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES EDUCATIONAL SERVICES EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS EDUCATORS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS EMPLOYMENT ENROLLMENT EQUAL TREATMENT ETHNIC MINORITIES FAMILIES GENDER EQUALITY GIRLS HIGH ACHIEVEMENT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS INDIRECT COSTS INFORMATION DISSEMINATION INNOVATION INSTRUCTION LAWS LEARNING LEARNING DISABILITIES LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS LEARNING METHODS LEARNING OUTCOMES LET LEVELS OF EDUCATION LITERACY LOCAL POLITICIANS LOW ENROLLMENT LOW ENROLLMENT RATES MIGRATION MINORITY STUDENTS MONITORING SYSTEM MOTIVATION NATIONAL CURRICULUM NEGATIVE EFFECTS NUMERACY PAPERS PARENTS PEDAGOGY POOR PEOPLE PRINCIPALS PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT PRIVATE SECTOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC SCHOOLS PUBLIC SECTOR QUALITY OF EDUCATION READING RETURNS TO EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SCHOOL BOARDS SCHOOL CHOICE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE SCHOOL QUALITY SCHOOL SIZE SCHOOL SYSTEMS SCHOOLING SCHOOLS SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY SCHOOLS SOCIAL NORMS STATISTICAL ANALYSES STUDENT ADMISSIONS STUDENT ENROLLMENT STUDENT ENROLLMENTS STUDENT MOBILITY STUDENT PERFORMANCE TEACHER TEACHER SALARIES TEACHER TRAINING TEACHERS TEACHERS UNIONS TEACHING TEACHING METHODS TEST SCORES TEXTBOOKS UNIVERSAL ACCESS UNIVERSITIES YOUTH COMPENSATION SYSTEMS ABSENTEEISM
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/03/2191892/vouchers-basic-education-developing-countries-principal-agent-perspective http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18306

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Summary:	Voucher programs consist of three simultaneous reforms: (1) allowing parents to choose schools, (2) creating intense incentives for schools to increase enrollment, and (3) granting schools management autonomy to respond to demand. As a result, voucher advocates and critics tend to talk past each other. A principal-agent framework clarifies the argument for education vouchers. Central findings from the literature, including issues related to variance in the performance measure, risk aversion, the productivity of more effort, multiple tasks, and the value of monitoring are found relevant for an analysis of vouchers. An assessment of findings on voucher programs in industrial countries, as well as a review of voucher or quasi-voucher experiences in Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Czech Republic support the usefulness of the analytic framework. The authors conclude that vouchers for basic education in developing countries can enhance outcomes when they are limited to modest numbers of poor students in urban settings, particularly in conjunction with existing private schools with surplus capacity. The success of more ambitious voucher programs depends on an institutional infrastructure challenging to industrial and developing countries alike.

Vouchers for Basic Education in Developing Countries : A Principal-Agent Perspective

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