Private schooling promotes political and economic freedom? An international fixed effects instrumental variables analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACTSpecialised learning environments provided through private schooling may increase educational quality, which may increase the likelihood that citizens will pursue human rights through civic engagement. We employed 2-stage least squares year and country-level fixed effects and examined how private schooling could affect political rights, civil liberties, and economic freedom indices in 174 nations across the globe from 1999 to 2014. We used an innovative instrumental variable, fluctuations in the short-run demand for schooling within countries, over time, in order to predict private schooling. Our results suggest that an increased share of private schooling enrolment at the primary level leads to enhanced political and economic freedom.