On the Comparative Political Economy of Educational Production

This paper explores the political economy characteristics underpinning systems of compulsory education. Comparative data from the OECD and EU provides evidence that left-wing partisan strength is cross-nationally correlated with greater public support for private sector schooling. There appears to be a counterintuitive policy dichotomy whereby Anglo-Saxon countries are seen to have pursued privatisation to a lesser degree than Scandinavian countries. A theory emphasising varying left-wing incentives to protect public sector ‘power resources’ is proposed as an explanation for this surprising pattern. Discussion of recent reforms in Sweden and England is used to explore possible objections to the theory.

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