School Finance, Equivalent Educational Expenditure, and Income Distribution: Equal Dollars or Equal Chances for Success?

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School Finance, Equivalent Educational Expenditure, and Income Distribution: Equal Dollars or Equal Chances for Success?

Author Info

Kathryn Wilson
Kristina Lambright
Timothy M. Smeeding

Abstract

This paper breaks new ground in the debate on school finance and equality of per pupil school expenditures. We are able to allocate expenditures per pupil at the *individual* student and family income level. This allows us to examine both student and school district characteristics and to assess several measures of equality of expenditure across the income distribution of parents and by funding sources. We find a surprising degree of equality in the actual amounts expended per child in low- vs. high-income families. But adjusting for student needs to reach equivalent education expenditures results in much greater inequality over the income distribution. Policy implications for school finance and increased equality of eduational opportunity are drawn in closing.

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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 62.

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Length: 36 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:max:cprwps:62

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

NEP-ALL-2005-03-13 (All new papers)
NEP-EDU-2005-03-13 (Education)
NEP-URE-2005-03-13 (Urban & Real Estate Economics)

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Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2001. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," NBER Working Papers 8605, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Other versions:
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Other versions:
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Other versions:
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