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Demographic Structure and the Political Economy of Public Education

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James M. Poterba

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Abstract

This papers examines the relationship between demographic structure and the level of government spending on K-12 education. Panel data for the U.S. states over the 1960-1990 period suggests that an increase in the fraction of elderly residents in a jurisdiction is associated with a significant reduction in per child educational spending. This reduction is particularly large when the elderly residents and the school-age population are from different racial groups. Variation in the size of the school-age population does not result in proportionate changes in education spending, so students in states with larger school-age populations receive lower per-student spending than those in states with smaller numbers of potential students. These results provide support for models of generational competition in the allocation of public sector resources. They also suggest that the effect of cohort size on government-mediated transfers must be considered in analyzing how cohort size affects economic well-being.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 5677.

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Date of creation: Jul 1996
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Publication status: published as Journal of Public Policy and Management, 16, pp.48-66.(January1997).
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:5677

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped

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  1. Borge, Lars-Erik & Rattso, Jorn, 1995. "Demographic shift, relative costs and the allocation of local public consumption in Norway," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 705-726, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Filer, J.E. & Kenny, L.W. & Morton, R.B., 1989. "Voting Laws, Educational Policies And Minority Turnout," Papers 89-7, Florida - College of Business Administration.
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  3. Rubinfeld, Daniel L, 1977. "Voting in a Local School Election: A Micro Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 59(1), pages 30-42, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Peltzman, Sam, 1993. "The Political Economy of the Decline of American Public Education," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 331-70, April.
    Other versions:
  5. Schwab, Robert M. & Oates, Wallace E., 1991. "Community composition and the provision of local public goods : A normative analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 217-237, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Gross, John, 1995. "Heterogeneity of preferences for local public goods: The case of private expenditure on public education," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 103-127, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Downes, Thomas A, 1996. " An Examination of the Structure of Governance in California School Districts before and after Proposition 13," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 86(3-4), pages 279-307, March.
  8. David M. Cutler & Douglas W. Elmendorf & Richard J. Zeckhauser, 1993. "Demographic Characteristics and the Public Bundle," NBER Working Papers 4283, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Goodman, Robert P, 1973. "Private Demands for Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 280-96, June.
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  10. Weingast, Barry R & Shepsle, Kenneth A & Johnsen, Christopher, 1981. "The Political Economy of Benefits and Costs: A Neoclassical Approach to Distributive Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(4), pages 642-64, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Case, Anne C. & Rosen, Harvey S. & Hines, James Jr., 1993. "Budget spillovers and fiscal policy interdependence : Evidence from the states," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 285-307, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Borcherding, Thomas E & Deacon, Robert T, 1972. "The Demand for the Services of Non-Federal Governments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 891-901, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Rubinfeld, D.L. & Shapiro, P., 1988. "Micro-Estimation Of The Demand For Schooling: Evidence From Michigan And Massachusetts," University of California Santa Barbara - Department of Economics 284, California Santa Barbara - Department of Economics.
  14. Rubinfeld, Daniel L. & Shapiro, Perry, 1989. "Micro-estimation of the demand for schooling : Evidence from Michigan and Massachusetts," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 381-398, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Lindert, Peter H., 1996. "What Limits Social Spending?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-34, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Megdal, Sharon Bernstein, 1984. "A model of local demand for education," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 13-30, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Figlio, David N., 1997. "Did the "tax revolt" reduce school performance?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 245-269, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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