The emergence of private high schools in India: The impact of public-private competition on public school students

Abstract

We study the entry of private secondary schools into 240 Indian villages previously served by public schools only—comparing student outcomes in these villages with outcomes in several thousand villages with no private schools. Consistent with predictions of a model of private–public school competition, we find evidence of stratification in terms of academic preparation and socioeconomic status. High-performing students sort into private schools, as do students from affluent families and from relatively privileged castes (especially males). In principle such stratification might undermine public schools, but our analysis of students across the socioeconomic spectrum shows no evidence of harm to those who remain in public schools.