School Choice and Its Long-Term Impact on Social Mobility in Sweden

Abstract

Sweden possesses a highly deregulated school system in which students in the compulsory school system are free to choose almost any school they prefer. This study focuses on the long-term difference in educational level twelve years after finishing elementary school for students who made a school choice compared to those who did not. The study uses the Voronoi method of estimating school choice and is based on detailed register-based data for all students that finished elementary school in Sweden in the years 2000-2002. The results confirm previous findings that the most resourceful families more often make active choices. However, those who made an active school choice seem to have lower future educational achievement. The exception are those who have foreign-born parents, and those living in low-resource areas, who made an active school choice. They have a more positive educational achievement compared to those who stayed in the closest school.