Markets v. monopolies

"Call me old fashioned," Andrew J. Coulson writes, "but I prefer to reach policy conclusions based on empirical research."

So after comparing the performance of alternative school systems over the past 2,000 years, I surveyed the modern econometric literature on the subject for the Journal of School Choice. What I found is that the freest, most market-like education systems consistently outperform the sorts of state monopolies preferred by [teacher union leader] Ms. Weingarten and her fellow travelers. Appended below is the chart counting up how many studies favored education markets over state school monopolies, and vice-versa, in each of six outcome areas.

Click to enlarge