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The impact of school closures on student achievement - evidence from rural Finland

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  • Izadi, Ramin
Abstract
Over the last two decades, many municipalities in Finland have attempted to cut costs by closing small schools. In particular, rural schools with low enrolment have been the target of these savings. This continuing tendency has raised many concerns about the effect of school closures on students, and remains a controversial issue in public debate. The current study examines 600 students at rural schools, who were displaced in the last years of their primary education due to school closures in 1999-2000. Relative to previous literature looking at school closures influenced by poor performance, in the present study school closures were due to cost savings alone. Additionally, because of the rural setting, the effects of displacement include longer journeys to school and increased school size. To address the non-random displacement of students, the effect of school closures on student grades and high school graduation rates is estimated by comparing the displaced students to control students who are matched based on a number of relevant covariates. I find no adverse effects of school closures on any of the measured outcomes. This implies that negative effects on students' school performance does not have empirical support as an objection to the school closure policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Izadi, Ramin, 2015. "The impact of school closures on student achievement - evidence from rural Finland," Working Papers 63, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:fer:wpaper:63
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    File URL: https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/148721
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Larsson Taghizadeh, Jonas, 2019. "Effects of school closures on displaced students and future cohorts in Sweden 2000-2016," Working Paper Series 2019:4, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

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    Keywords

    Local public economics; Kunnallistalous; Public services; Julkiset palvelut; Effectiveness of public services; Julkisten palvelujen vaikuttavuus;
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