The Effect of Mandated State Education Spending on Total Local Resources

46 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2004

See all articles by Katherine Baicker

Katherine Baicker

Harvard University - Department of Health Policy & Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Nora Gordon

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: September 2004

Abstract

Many states are under court-order to reduce local disparities in education spending. While a substantial body of literature suggests that these orders and the resulting school finance equalizations have increased the level and progressivity of state education spending, there is little evidence on the broader effects of such measures on the change in total resources available not only for schools, but for other local government programs as well. When states spend more on education, both state and local budget constraints change. We find that while mandated school finance equalizations increase both the level and progressivity of state spending on education, states finance the required increase in education spending in part by reducing their aid to localities for other programs. Local governments, in turn, respond to the increases in state taxation and spending by reducing both their own revenue-raising and their own spending on education and on other programs. Thus, while state education aid does increase total spending on education, it does so at the expense of drawing resources away from spending on programs like public welfare, highways, and hospitals. These findings provide insight into the effectiveness of using earmarked funds to achieve redistribution.

Keywords: school finance equalization, state and local public finance

JEL Classification: H52, H72, I22

Suggested Citation

Baicker, Katherine and Gordon, Nora Elizabeth, The Effect of Mandated State Education Spending on Total Local Resources (September 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=601602 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.601602

Katherine Baicker (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Department of Health Policy & Management ( email )

677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Nora Elizabeth Gordon

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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