February 7, 2011 12:15PM 

# Profits Do Oft Disprove Jesters 

By [Andrew J. Coulson](https://www.cato.org/people/andrew-coulson) 

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[A new study of Sweden’s nationwide private school choice program](http://www.iea.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/files/Schooling%20for%20money%20-%20web%20version_0.pdf) reveals that both non-profit and for-profit private schools outperform state-run schools. And, after the most comprehensive set of controls for confounding variables, they do so by an almost identical (and highly statistically significant) margin.

Is there any reason, then, to prefer one form of private organization over the other? Yes. While non-profit private schools have tended to increase the size of their waiting lists in response to growing demand, their for-profit counterparts have done what all commercial enterprises would do in that circumstance: they’ve grown.

For more insights on this crucial distinction, have a look at Peje Emilsson’s presentation from [our “Cloning Superman” event, which was broadcast on CSPAN](<http://www.c-span.org/Events/Cato-Institute-Discussion-on-Scaling-Up-Good-Schools/10737419243-1/ >).

If you want more good schools and fewer bad ones, make it easier for entrepreneurs and investors to team up with great educators, and let them earn profits or suffer losses in direct proportion to their ability to serve children.

##### Related Tags 

[Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) 

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