Private school admission policy and the choice of public schools: Evidence from the housing market

The Ministry of Education of China started to introduce “simultaneous admission of both public and private schools” in 2018. Using housing transaction data from 2017 to 2020, we investigate the policy effects on residential properties in Hangzhou. We find increased housing price premiums for public school quality following the introduction of the new policy. The increase in the housing price premium for top-tier public schools was mainly driven by price gains for smaller, simple- and fancy-decorated, and older or quasi-new properties. In addition, we found a relative increase in the transaction volume of properties bundled with the second-best public schools versus those in the top-tier schools. It suggests that the increased price premium have led parents to choose a sub-optimal school quality, which might result in a widening inequality to be enrolled in top tier public schools.