ABSTRACT
Th is chapter addresses the distinctions between public and private goods and how education fi ts both of these classifi cations. Th is analysis of a “mixed” good provides a compelling basis for families to play both a private role in terms of school choice for their own off spring and also an important public role in setting an educational course that benefi ts the larger society. Th e chapter suggests that there are already many forms of school choice in the United States, but fewer opportunities for poor and minority families to choose schools for their children. Th is reality raises the question of how to envision and design school choice within the framework of a mixed good that will also embrace choice for the poor. Th e chapter asserts that beyond the policy focus on choice, three other criteria must be attended to: productive effi ciency, equity, and social cohesion. It will show that the policy tools of fi nance, regulation, and support services can be enlisted to design an approach which attempts to balance-albeit with tensions and tradeoff s-the public and private outcomes.
