IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ntj/journl/v51y1998i2p239-62.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

School Finance Reform: Aid Formulas and Equity Objectives

Author

Listed:
  • Duncombe, William
  • Yinger, John

Abstract

State education officials have implemented performance standards, but state education aid has not kept up. By focusing on the relationship between spending and property wealth, most existing aid formulas only partially account for cost differences across districts and, thus, fail to fully promote equity in school performance. This paper shows how to estimate comprehensive educational cost indexes that control for school district inefficiency and include them in state aid formulas. It also simulates for New York the impact of several aid formulas on educational performance and evaluates each formula using several equity criteria. The results indicate that outcome-based foundation formulas can achieve adequacy objectives, but that practical policies to promote vertical equity or wealth neutrality do not yet exist.

Suggested Citation

  • Duncombe, William & Yinger, John, 1998. "School Finance Reform: Aid Formulas and Equity Objectives," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 51(2), pages 239-262, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:51:y:1998:i:2:p:239-62
    DOI: 10.1086/NTJ41789325
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1086/NTJ41789325
    Download Restriction: Access is restricted to subscribers and members of the National Tax Association.
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1086/NTJ41789325
    Download Restriction: Access is restricted to subscribers and members of the National Tax Association.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/NTJ41789325?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leibenstein, Harvey, 1978. "On the Basic Proposition of X-Efficiency Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 328-332, May.
    2. Sharon Bernstein Megdal, 1983. "Equalization of Expenditures and the Demand for Local Public Education: The Case of New Jersey," Public Finance Review, , vol. 11(3), pages 365-376, July.
    3. Ratcliffe, Kerri & Riddle, Bruce & Yinger, John, 1990. "The fiscal condition of school districts in Nebraska: Is small beautiful?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 81-99, March.
    4. Niskanen, William A, 1975. "Bureaucrats and Politicians," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 617-643, December.
    5. Ruggiero, John, 1996. "Efficiency of Educational Production: An Analysis of New York School Districts," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(3), pages 499-509, August.
    6. Rothstein, Paul, 1992. "The demand for education with 'power equalizing' aid : Estimation and simulation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 135-162, November.
    7. Feldstein, Martin S, 1975. "Wealth Neutrality and Local Choice in Public Education," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 65(1), pages 75-89, March.
    8. William Wallace, 1993. "From to," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 3-6.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tae Ho Eom & William Duncombe & Phuong Nguyen-Hoang & John Yinger, 2014. "The Unintended Consequences of Property Tax Relief: New York’s STAR Program," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 446-480, October.
    2. Bo Zhao, 2020. "How to Design a State Education Aid Formula That Is Equitable, Adequate, and Politically Feasible: The Case of Connecticut," Working Papers 21-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    3. Bo Zhao, 2023. "Estimating the cost function of connecticut public K–12 education: implications for inequity and inadequacy in school spending," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 439-470, July.
    4. Bird, Richard M. & Smart, Michael, 2002. "Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers: International Lessons for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 899-912, June.
    5. repec:kap:iaecre:v:14:y:2008:i:2:p:228-241 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Plummer, Elizabeth, 2006. "The effects of state funding on property tax rates and school construction," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 532-542, October.
    7. Kalyan Chakraborty & John Poggio, 2008. "Efficiency and Equity in School Funding: A Case Study for Kansas," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 14(2), pages 228-241, May.
    8. William Duncombe & Anna Lukemeyer & John Yinger, 2004. "Education Finance Reform in New York: Calculating the Cost of a 'Sound Basic Education' in New York City," Center for Policy Research Policy Briefs 28, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    9. Nguyen-Hoang, Phuong & Yeung, Ryan, 2010. "What is paratransit worth?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 841-853, December.
    10. Rajashri Chakrabarti & Max Livingston & Joydeep Roy, 2014. "Did Cuts in State Aid During the Great Recession Lead to Changes in Local Property Taxes?," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 383-416, October.
    11. John Yinger, 2009. "Hedonic Markets and Explicit Demands: Bid-Function Envelopes for Public Services, Neighborhood Amenities, and Commuting Costs," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 114, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
    12. Michah W. Rothbart, 2020. "Does School Finance Reform Reduce the Race Gap in School Funding?," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 15(4), pages 675-707, Fall.
    13. Duncombe, William & Yinger, John, 2005. "How much more does a disadvantaged student cost?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 513-532, October.
    14. Buerger, Christian & Bifulco, Robert, 2019. "The effect of charter schools on districts’ student composition, costs, and efficiency: The case of New York state," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 61-72.
    15. Christopher R. Geller & David L. Sjoquist & Mary Beth Walker, 2006. "The Effect of Private School Competition on Public School Performance in Georgia," Public Finance Review, , vol. 34(1), pages 4-32, January.
    16. William Duncombe & John Yinger, 2011. "Making do: state constraints and local responses in California’s education finance system," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(3), pages 337-368, June.
    17. Duncombe, William & Yinger, John, 2000. "Financing higher student performance standards: the case of New York State," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 363-386, October.
    18. Hui-Ling Peng & Chih-Tung Hsiao & Ming-Hung Yao, 2016. "Systemic Analysis of Pensions: The Case of the Taiwanese Primary School Teacher Pension Fund," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 159-172, January.
    19. Il Hwan Chung & William Duncombe & John Yinger, 2018. "The Impact of State Aid Reform on Property Values: A Case Study of Maryland's Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(3), pages 369-394, Summer.
    20. Maria Marta Ferreyra, 2009. "An Empirical Framework for Large-Scale Policy Analysis, with an Application to School Finance Reform in Michigan," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 147-180, February.
    21. Britton, Jack & Propper, Carol, 2016. "Teacher pay and school productivity: Exploiting wage regulation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 75-89.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duncombe, William & Yinger, John, 1998. "School Finance Reform: Aid Formulas and Equity Objectives," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 51(n. 2), pages 239-62, June.
    2. Eric J. Brunner & Stephen L. Ross, 2009. "Is the Median Voter Decisive? Evidence of 'Ends Against the Middle' From Referenda Voting Patterns," Working papers 2009-02, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised May 2010.
    3. Thomas A. Downes & Thomas F. Pogue, 1992. "Intergovernmental Aid To Reduce Fiscal Disparities: Problems of Definition and Measurement," Public Finance Review, , vol. 20(4), pages 468-482, October.
    4. Ruggiero, John & Miner, Jerry & Blanchard, Lloyd, 2002. "Measuring equity of educational outcomes in the presence of inefficiency," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 642-652, November.
    5. Nechyba, Thomas, 1996. "A computable general equilibrium model of intergovernmental aid," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 363-397, November.
    6. Eric J. Brunner & Stephen L. Ross, 2007. "How Decisive Is the Decisive Voter?," Working papers 2007-28, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2008.
    7. STEVEN C. DELLER & David G. Hinds & Donald L. Hinman, 2001. "Local Public Services in Wisconsin: Alternatives for Municipalities with a Focus on Privatization," Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural and Applied Economics Staff Papers 441, Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural and Applied Economics Department.
    8. Tae Ho Eom & William Duncombe & Phuong Nguyen-Hoang & John Yinger, 2014. "The Unintended Consequences of Property Tax Relief: New York’s STAR Program," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 446-480, October.
    9. H. Peter Gray, 1986. "Protection in a Democracy: A Conversation with H. Peter Gray and Roy Licklider," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 89-93, Apr-Jun.
    10. Vernon Ruttan, 1980. "Bureaucratic productivity: The case of agricultural research," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 529-547, January.
    11. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3573-3630 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Pradeep Kautish, 2010. "Study On Impact Of Environmental Change On Selected Public Sector Enterprises In India," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 5(2), pages 68-88, June.
    13. Cordes, Christian & Richerson, Peter J. & Schwesinger, Georg, 2010. "How corporate cultures coevolve with the business environment: The case of firm growth crises and industry evolution," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 465-480, December.
    14. Bird, Richard M. & Smart, Michael, 2002. "Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers: International Lessons for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 899-912, June.
    15. Eric A. Hanushek & Kuzey Yilmaz, 2007. "Schools and Location: Tiebout, Alonso, and Government Policy," NBER Working Papers 12960, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Randall Holcombe, 2005. "Government growth in the twenty-first century," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 95-114, July.
    17. Helen Simpson, 2009. "Productivity In Public Services," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 250-276, April.
    18. Ando, Amy, 1998. "Delay on the Path to the Endangered Species List: Do Costs and Benefits Matter," RFF Working Paper Series dp-97-43-rev, Resources for the Future.
    19. Karen Maguire, 2013. "Drill Baby Drill? Political and Market Influences on Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing in the Western United States," Economics Working Paper Series 1401, Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business, revised Apr 2013.
    20. David Neumark, 2004. "Living Wages: Protection for or Protection from Low-Wage Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(1), pages 27-51, October.
    21. Gregory, Robert G. & Borland, Jeff, 1999. "Recent developments in public sector labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 53, pages 3573-3630, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:51:y:1998:i:2:p:239-62. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: The University of Chicago Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.ntanet.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.