The purpose of this paper is to verify whether families take into account the educational productivity differentials between the private and public sectors (in terms of proficiency) when deciding on their children's schools. The production functions for each sector using Heckman Model revealed a productivity differential in favor of the private sector. An increase on the performance differential in Mathematics and Reading increases the odds of families choosing the private sector. Also, the higher the proportion of white students and the greater the difference in socioeconomic status of students in the private sector compared to public sector, the more likely a family will choose the private sector.
Educational Sector Choice; Intersectoral Productivity Differential in Education; Heckman Model; Probit
