ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND SCOPE IN FLEMISH SECONDARY-SCHOOLS

This study estimates a multiproduct translog cost function for the ent ire population of 1011 Flemish secondary schools in order to determine the degree of ray and product specific (dis)economies of scale as wel l as the degree of(dis)economies of scope. Three types of schools and seven major study fields can be distinguished. Student loads in these study fields are used as outputs produced by the schools. Evidence is found for ray economies of scale for the three types of schools, even at output levels of 300% of the actual means. Although the cost elasti cities of six out of seven outputs are close to zero, most of the valu es indicating the degree of product specific economies of scale are ne gative (suggesting diseconomies of scale). However, this can be explai ned by the considerable scope effects which are incorporated in the de finition of the product specific economies of scale.