Valuing school quality using boundary discontinuities

Gibbons, Stephen ORCID: 0000-0002-2871-8562, Machin, Stephen ORCID: 0009-0004-8130-2701 and Silva, Olmo ORCID: 0009-0005-6918-2206 (2012) Valuing school quality using boundary discontinuities. CEE discussion papers (CEE DP 132). Centre for the Economics of Education, London, UK.

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Abstract

Existing research shows that house prices respond to local school quality as measured by average test scores. However, higher test scores could signal better quality teaching and academic value-added, or higher ability, sought-after intakes. In our research, we show decisively that value-added drives households’ demand for good schooling. However, prior achievement – linked to the background of children in school – also matters. In order to identify these effects, we improve the boundary discontinuity regression methodology by matching identical properties across admissions authority boundaries; by allowing for boundary effects and spatial trends; by re-weighting our data towards transactions that are closest to district boundaries; by eliminating boundaries that coincide with major geographical features; and by submitting our estimates to a number of novel falsification tests. Our results survive this battery of experiments and show that a one-standard deviation change in either school average value-added or prior achievement raises prices by around 3%.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/cee-discus...
Additional Information:	© 2012 The Authors
Divisions:	Geography and Environment Urban and Spatial Programme Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) L Education > L Education (General)
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Econometric Methods: Single Equation Models; Single Variables > C21 - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations > H75 - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I20 - General R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R21 - Housing Demand
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2012 10:39
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 04:30
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/45239

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