Determining the optimal size of study fields in Flemish secondary education

The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal size of educational o rganisations. We assume that the global cost consists of two parts: a publi c cost of supplying education characterised by scale economies and a privat e transport cost showing diseconomies. Combining both components leads to a cost function that allows the optimal scale to be derived. Using informati on on the fixed cost of supplying a study field, the student density and th e transport cost, it is possible to determine the optimal number of student s in each of the study fields. It follows that the actual size is far from optimal. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.