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Do Public Expenditures Improve Child Outcomes in the U.S.? A Comparison across Fifty States

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Author Info
Kristen Harknett
Irwin Garfinkel
Jay Bainbridge
Timothy Smeeding () (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University)
Nancy Folbre
Sara McLanahan

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Abstract

Our paper utilizes variation across the 50 U.S. states to examine the relationship between public expenditures on children and child outcomes. We find that public expenditures on children are related to better child outcomes across a wide range of indicators, including measures of child mortality, elementary-school test scores, and adolescent behavioral outcomes. States that spend more on children have better child outcomes even after taking into account potential confounding influences. Our results are robust to numerous variations in model specifications and to the inclusion of proxies for unobserved characteristics of states. Our sensitivity analyses suggest that the results we present may be conservative, yet our findings show that public investments in children yield broad short-term returns in the form of improved child outcomes.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University in its series Center for Policy Research Working Papers with number 53.

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Length: 36 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:max:cprwps:53

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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  2. Bruce Bradbury & Markus Jantti, 1999. "Child Poverty across Industrialized Nations," Innocenti Occasional Papers, Economic Policy Series iopeps99/70, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
  3. Currie, Janet & Gruber, Jonathan, 1996. "Saving Babies: The Efficacy and Cost of Recent Changes in the Medicaid Eligibility of Pregnant Women," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1263-96, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Eric A. Hanushek, 2001. "Black-White Achievement Differences and Governmental Interventions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 24-28, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Krueger, Alan B & Whitmore, Diane M, 2001. "The Effect of Attending a Small Class in the Early Grades on College-Test Taking and Middle School Test Results: Evidence from Project STAR," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(468), pages 1-28, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Phipps, S., 1999. "The Well-Being of Young Canadian Children in International Perspective," Department of Economics at Dalhousie University working papers archive 99-01, Dalhousie, Department of Economics.
  7. Eric A. Hanushek & Julie A. Somers, 1999. "Schooling, Inequality, and the Impact of Government," NBER Working Papers 7450, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Eric A. Hanushek & Javier A. Luque, 2002. "Efficiency and Equity in Schools around the World," NBER Working Papers 8949, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Phipps, S., 1999. "The Well-Being of Young Canadian Children in International Perspective," Department of Economics at Dalhousie University working papers archive 99-01, Dalhousie, Department of Economics.
  10. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1992. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Public Schools in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(1), pages 1-40, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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