Effects and Mechanisms of CEO Quality in Public Education

Abstract

Abstract ‘CEOs’ of public schools in many countries have authority and responsibilities that can greatly affect the quality of schooling. This paper estimates the impact of CEOs on student outcomes in Israeli elementary schools. We estimate CEO quality in two ways—once using schools that do not switch CEOs and once using schools that do. We show that switches are exogenous and are not correlated with potential outcomes. CEO quality positively affects students’ test scores and behavioural outcomes, with pronounced effects for disadvantaged schools. Potential mechanisms show that high-quality CEOs lead to improvements in school priorities, working procedures and violence reduction.