Heuristics, Low Information Rationality, and Choosing Public Goods

The United States is in the midst of a reform movement empowering parents to choose among an expanded set of schools for their children. Inherent in these reforms is the idea that parents will gather the information necessary to make informed choices from among the set. Opponents of school choice argue that lower-income parents will not be able to gather information about their options to select appropriate schools for their children. The authors show that visual cues can indicate levels of academic performance and school safety—the two dimensions of schools that concern parents—and may allow parents to make good choices among schools.