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Government Privatization and Political Participation: The Case of Charter Schools

Journal Title Journal of Politics
Published Date January 01, 2020
Research Type

Abstract

Governments around the world have privatized public services in the name of efficiency and citizen empowerment, but some argue that privatization could also affect citizen participation in democratic governance. We explore this possibility by estimating the impact of charter schools (which are publicly funded but privately operated) on school district elections. The analysis indicates that the enrollment of district students in charter schools reduced the number of votes cast in district school board contests and, correspondingly, reduced turnout in the odd-year elections in which those contests are held. This impact is concentrated in districts that serve low-achieving, impoverished, and minority students, leading to a modest decline in the share of voters in those districts who are black and who have children. There is little evidence that charter school expansion affected the outcomes of school board elections or turnout in other elections.

Government Privatization and Political Participation: The Case of Charter Schools” (w/ Jason Cook, Vladimir Kogan, and Zachary Peskowitz), Journal of Politics, 82(1): 300-314, 2020