In recent decades, policymakers around the globe have adopted market mechanisms such as consumer-style choice, provider autonomy and competition. Such policies may improve educational equity since families can choose options outside of their assigned local school. Yet research from multiple countries is finding a link between greater use of such…

The American experiment with charter schools advanced on dual impulses of increasing opportunities for disadvantaged students and unleashing market competition. While critics see these independently managed schools as a form of privatisation, proponents contend that they are public schools because of funding and accountability arrangements and…

Recent reforms in England's education system have been justified on the grounds that other countries have pursued similar approaches to education reform. Many such policies that by-pass or otherwise diminish meso-level institutions demonstrate a commitment to the idea of devolving authority to local actors. The current reforms in England and…