Note: the graphs in this post display correlations only. They are used to discuss relationships some argue exist, not to … Continue reading “Do equality and high average school performance really go hand in hand?”

Summary: ·      Despite substantial improvements in life expectancy, the employment rate among men aged 55-59 decreased from over 90 per … Continue reading “Income from Work – The Fourth Pillar of Income Provision in Old Age”

In a recent blog post, Sam Freedman, former advisor to Education Secretary Michael Gove, announced that he has changed his … Continue reading “Freedman’s no Friedman on for-profit schools”

Since World War II, retirement has gone from a fringe to a mass phenomenon in western countries. Many people long … Continue reading “The relationship between retirement and health”

Incentivising Excellence considers the conditions that need to prevail for school choice to fulfil its promise in relation to improving educational … Continue reading “Incentivising excellence: school choice and education quality”

With aims including far more school choice for pupils from all backgrounds, and raising standards in state schools through competition, … Continue reading “Incentives must be the foundation of a revolution in British education”

With aims including far more school choice for pupils from all backgrounds, and raising standards in state schools through competition, … Continue reading “Incentives must be the foundation of a revolution in British education”

In a reply to my note on last week’s IPPR report, Rick Muir maintains his position that for-profit schools should be banned. … Continue reading “Research, not ideology, should guide the for-profit school debate”

In a new IPPR report, Rick Muir argues that profit-making free schools should remain banned. He does so by providing … Continue reading “IPPR report fails to provide persuasive arguments against profit-making schools”

I am now accustomed to the fact that British journalists resort to extensive confirmation bias when arguing that free schools … Continue reading “Game, set and match: new evidence from the Swedish voucher reform”

In a recent column in the Guardian, Kevin Courtney lambasts the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, for ‘fly[ing] a … Continue reading “Opponents of school choice are misinterpreting the data”

In the debate over proposed market reforms in the NHS, opinions are plentiful but few commentators back up their opinions … Continue reading “Does competition in the NHS work?”

Yesterday, in a panel discussion at Policy Exchange – coinciding with their release of a report advocating ‘social enterprise’ schools, … Continue reading “The case for bona fide profit-making schools”

Yesterday, dealing a blow to the progress of the coalition’s free school programme, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged that … Continue reading “You say you want a revolution?”

This is a response to Mr Francis Gilbert at the Local Schools Network who has questioned my research on Swedish for-profit schools … Continue reading “For-profit schools in Sweden: a response to criticisms”

Should for-profit free schools be banned? The UK debate regarding this issue has so far provided heated rhetoric, but little … Continue reading “For-profit free schools: the evidence from Sweden”

This IEA Discussion Paper looks at the role of for-profit schools in Sweden and for the first time provides quantitative … Continue reading “Schooling for Money: Swedish Education Reform and the Role of the Profit Motive (web publication)”