Impact of Public-Private Partnerships on Private School Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda

33 Pages Posted: 7 Dec 2016

See all articles by Felipe Barrera-Osorio

Felipe Barrera-Osorio

Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education

Pierre Gaspard De Galbert

Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education

James P. Habyarimana

Georgetown University; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Shwetlena Sabarwal

World Bank

Date Written: December 5, 2016

Abstract

This paper estimates the short-term, partial-equilibrium impacts of a public-private partnership program for low-cost private secondary schools in Uganda. The public-private partnership program is part of a broader strategy to absorb large increases in secondary enrollment following the introduction of universal secondary education. Under the program, the government offers a per-student subsidy to participating private schools. Program implementation allowed for a randomized phase-in study design to estimate the causal impacts of the program on private school performance. The study finds that the public-private partnership program helped absorb large numbers of eligible students in secondary schools. Student performance in participating private schools was significantly better than in nonparticipating private schools. The study finds that improved student performance is potentially linked to increased input availability, as well as positive selection of government aided students in private schools. Suggestive evidence indicates that this selection most likely occurs on the part of households rather than schools.

Keywords: Secondary Education, Educational Populations, Education Finance, Education for Development (superceded), Education For All, Access & Equity in Basic Education, Economics of Education

Suggested Citation

Barrera-Osorio, Felipe and De Galbert, Pierre Gaspard and Habyarimana, James P. and Sabarwal, Shwetlena, Impact of Public-Private Partnerships on Private School Performance: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda (December 5, 2016). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7905, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2881698

Felipe Barrera-Osorio (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education ( email )

456 Gutman Library
6 appian way
cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Pierre Gaspard De Galbert

Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education

6 Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

James P. Habyarimana

Georgetown University ( email )

Washington, DC 20057
United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Shwetlena Sabarwal

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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