Education and Child Policy

Is Public Schooling a Public Good? An Analysis of Schooling Externalities

Is public schooling a public good, a merit good, or a demerit good? In a new paper, Cato scholar Corey A. DeAngelis argues it is not a public good, failing both conditions required by definition. He then examines the positive and negative externalities of public schooling, compared to publicly financed universal school vouchers, and determines the net externality of government schooling in the United States using the preponderance of the most rigorous scientific evidence.

School Inc.

Why doesn’t education use innovation to grow like a successful business? School Inc. – A Personal Journey with Andrew Coulson, follows the late Andrew Coulson, series creator/writer/host and Cato Institute senior fellow, as he sets out on a worldwide personal quest for an answer to this question. Throughout the three-part, three-hour series, Coulson examines the role of innovation, the universal search for educational excellence and – for better or worse – the application of the profit motive.

Not Just Treading Water: In Higher Education, Tuition Often Does More than Replace Lost Appropriations

No one disputes that the sticker price of college—what schools charge, not necessarily what students end up paying—has for decades been rising at a very fast clip. What analysts disagree about is why. There are many possible explanations, but one that has a lot of adherents is that direct public support for colleges and universities, which is determined primarily by state, and to a lesser extent, local governments, has been in considerable decline. This paper dives into the data to assess that explanation.

Cato Studies

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Of Special Note

The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves

The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves

In The Beautiful Tree, James Tooley braids together personal experience, community action, and family devotion, and takes readers to the very heart of education. Tooley journeys from Africa to China, sharing insights from children, parents, teachers, and entrepreneurs who taught him that the poor are not waiting for educational handouts. They are building their own schools and learning to save themselves.

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Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

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Public Schooling Battle Map

Public Schooling Battle Map

Americans are diverse – ethnically, religiously, philosophically – but all are forced to support public schools. The intention behind this is largely good: to unite people and minimize discord. However, as the examples contained in this map show, the effect is often very much the opposite. Rather than bringing diverse people together public schooling divides them, forcing them into conflict over whose values and histories will be taught, and whose basic rights will be upheld…or trampled.