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The Impact of Early Investments in Urban School Systems in the United States

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  • Ethan J. Schmick
  • Allison Shertzer

Abstract

Cities in the United States dramatically expanded spending on public education in the years following World War I, with the average urban school district increasing per pupil expenditures by over 70 percent between 1916 and 1924. We provide the first evaluation of these historically unprecedented investments in public education by compiling a new dataset that links individuals to both the quality of the city school district they attended as a child and their adult outcomes. Using plausibly exogenous growth in school spending generated by anti-German sentiment after World War I, we find that school resources significantly increased educational attainment and wages later in life, particularly for the children of unskilled workers. Increases in expenditures can explain between 19 and 29 percent of the sizable increase in educational attainment of cohorts born between 1895 and 1915.

Suggested Citation

  • Ethan J. Schmick & Allison Shertzer, 2019. "The Impact of Early Investments in Urban School Systems in the United States," NBER Working Papers 25663, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25663
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lepinteur, Anthony & Nieto, Adrìan, 2021. "All about the money ? The gendered effect of education on industrial and occupational sorting," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 2109, CEPREMAP.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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