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Buy the Book? Evidence on the Effect of Textbook Funding on School-Level Achievement

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  • Kristian L. Holden

Abstract

This paper considers the effect of textbook funding on school-level test performance by using a quasi-experimental setting in the United States. I consider a lawsuit in California that provided a one-time payment of $96.90 per student for textbooks if schools fell below a threshold of academic performance. Exploiting this variation with a regression discontinuity (RD) design, I find that textbook funding has significant positive effects on school-level achievement in elementary schools and has a high benefit-per-dollar. In contrast to elementary schools, I find no effect in middle and high schools though these estimates are very imprecise.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristian L. Holden, 2016. "Buy the Book? Evidence on the Effect of Textbook Funding on School-Level Achievement," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 100-127, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:8:y:2016:i:4:p:100-127
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20150112
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Carrie Conaway & Dan Goldhaber, 2020. "Appropriate Standards of Evidence for Education Policy Decision Making," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(2), pages 383-396, Spring.
    2. Willén, Alexander, 2021. "Decentralization of wage determination: Evidence from a national teacher reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    3. Yu-Chin Hsu & Chung-Ming Kuan & Giorgio Teng-Yu Lo, 2017. "Quantile Treatment Effects in Regression Discontinuity Designs with Covariates," IEAS Working Paper : academic research 17-A009, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
    4. Acton, Riley & Orr, Cody & Rogers, Salem, 2023. "Returns to School Spending in Rural America: Evidence from Wisconsin's Sparsity Aid Program," IZA Discussion Papers 15915, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Rosangela Bando & Francisco Gallego & Paul Gertler & Dario Romero Fonseca, 2016. "Books or Laptops? The Cost-Effectiveness of Shifting from Printed to Digital Delivery of Educational Content," Documentos de Trabajo 474, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    6. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2018. "Does School Spending Matter? The New Literature on an Old Question," NBER Working Papers 25368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. David Blazar & Blake Heller & Thomas J. Kane & Morgan Polikoff & Douglas O. Staiger & Scott Carrell & Dan Goldhaber & Douglas N. Harris & Rachel Hitch & Kristian L. Holden & Michal Kurlaender, 2020. "Curriculum Reform in The Common Core Era: Evaluating Elementary Math Textbooks Across Six U.S. States," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 966-1019, September.
    8. Benjamin W. Arold & M. Danish Shakeel, 2021. "The Unintended Effects of the Common Core State Standards on Non-Targeted Subjects," ifo Working Paper Series 354, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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