How the Principles of the Sharing Economy Can Improve Organizational Performance of the US Public School System

Abstract

The US public school system is struggling with issues of student achievement. Therefore, the current study will examine education in the context of public goods, identifying three key dimensions of education as public goods and club goods. Then using agency theory, the paper addresses how school districts may be organized into local responsibility centers (RCs), to encourage local participation and better measure performance. The paper also identifies how the collaboration (sharing) economy may offer insight into all of these issues, examining four small case examples of organizations that illustrate the principles of the sharing economy. The paper then develops a proposal for revamping public education, based upon these principles.