2015年-世界发展银行全球_Can_Free_Provision_Reduce_Demand_for_Public_Services____Evidence_from_Kenyan_Education_34页_381kb

Summary of "Can Free Provision Reduce Demand for Public Services? Evidence from Kenyan Education"

Core Content

This study examines the impact of Kenya's Free Primary Education (FPE) policy, which abolished user fees in government primary schools in 2003. The authors analyze how this policy affected demand for public and private education, focusing on enrollment patterns and perceived quality of schools.

Main Findings

• Net Enrollment in Public Schools Stagnated: Despite the removal of user fees, net enrollment in government primary schools did not increase significantly. The rate remained around 70% over the ten-year period from 1997 to 2006.
• Private School Enrollment Rose Sharply: In contrast, enrollment in private primary schools more than doubled, increasing from 3.8% to 8.9%.
• Wealthier Households Shifted to Private Schools: The shift in demand was primarily driven by more affluent households, who experienced a larger reduction in school funding due to their higher pre-FPE fees and the influx of poorer students, which increased pupil-teacher ratios.
• No Overall Increase in Public School Enrollment: The policy did not lead to a broad increase in public school attendance, but rather a reallocation of demand toward private schools, indicating a trade-off between access and perceived quality.
• Quality Perception and Social Sorting: The authors argue that the perceived decline in public school quality, possibly due to financial constraints, peer composition, and reduced accountability, led to the shift in demand. However, they note that this shift can be explained by socio-economic sorting rather than a direct decline in school value-added.
• Private Schools Outperform Public Schools: On average, private primary schools in Kenya outperform public ones in national standardized tests, suggesting a quality gap that may have widened slightly after FPE.

Key Mechanisms Explained

1. Loss of Fee Revenue and Funding Shifts: The removal of fees led to a reduction in per-pupil funding for public schools, particularly for wealthier households.
2. Peer Composition and Social Signalling: The influx of poorer students into public schools may have altered the peer environment, reducing the perceived quality and leading to a "flight" of more affluent students to private schools.
3. Accountability and Productivity Changes: The shift in demand may also reflect changes in the accountability framework of public schools under free provision, potentially reducing their productivity or perceived value.

Data and Methodology

• Data Sources: The study uses two nationally representative household surveys (1997 Welfare Monitoring Survey and 2006 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey) and school-level administrative data (KCPE test scores).
• Enrollment Analysis: Net enrollment rates (NER) and gross enrollment rates (GER) are compared across public and private schools, and between primary and secondary education.
• Instrumental Variable Approach: The authors use exogenous characteristics of unchosen schools (e.g., past test scores of nearby private schools) as an instrument to estimate the effect of social interactions on enrollment decisions.
• Control Group: Secondary schools, where fees remained unchanged, serve as a control group to isolate the effects of FPE on primary education.

Policy Implications

• Trade-Off Between Access and Quality: The policy led to increased access for poorer households but also to greater socio-economic segregation, suggesting a potential trade-off between access and quality in public education.
• Importance of Private Sector in Education: The study highlights the significant role of private schools in mediating the effects of fee abolition, which earlier studies may have overlooked.
• General vs. Partial Equilibrium Effects: The findings suggest that the effects of FPE are better understood as general equilibrium responses, rather than partial equilibrium effects observed in targeted programs.

Conclusion

The abolition of user fees in Kenya's public primary schools did not increase overall enrollment in public schools but instead led to a shift in demand toward private schools. This shift was driven by socio-economic sorting, with wealthier households moving out of public schools in response to the increased presence of poorer students. The study challenges the conventional view that free provision always improves access, emphasizing the potential for unintended consequences related to quality perception and resource allocation.