RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Parental Responses to Public Investments in Children: Evidence from a Maximum Class Size Rule
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
DO 10.3368/jhr.51.4.1114-6779R1
A1 Peter Fredriksson
A1 Björn Öckert
A1 Hessel Oosterbeek
YR 2015
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2015/11/20/jhr.51.4.1114-6779R1.abstract
AB We study differential parental responses to variation in class size induced by a maximum class size rule in Swedish schools. In response to an increase in class size: (i) only high-income parents help their children more with homework; (ii) all parents are more likely to move their child to another school; and (iii) only low-income children find their teachers harder to follow when taught in a larger class. These findings indicate that public and private investments in children are substitutes, and help explain why the negative effect of class size on achievement in our data is concentrated among low-income children.