School choice and implications for equity: the new political geography of the Swedish upper secondary school market

The current study investigated the spatial restructuring of the Swedish upper secondary school market over time, which happened as a consequence of school choice reform started in the early 1990s. The school choice reform enabled students to choose and attend schools (public or private) based on preference rather than residential area. Consequently, public and private school providers compete for students in a form of quasi-market. Using register data for Swedish upper secondary school students from 1997 to 2011 (N = 664,895), the study showed two major changes in school market structure: an increase in urbanised commuting patterns and differentiated school choice possibilities within and across municipalities. The assumption of economic balance between supply and demand through school choice is strongly contested by these outcomes. Furthermore, not only is market failure prevalent and creating differences in educational opportunities between places but these tendencies are so far progressively escalating over time and demonstrating how students’ choices today affect and limit educational opportunities for future students.