IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/pubfin/v3y1975i3p261-274.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Predicting the Cost of Fiscal Equalization in School Finance

Author

Listed:
  • Robert W. Gilmer

    (Institute for Defense Analysis Arlington, Virginia)

Abstract

The recent appearance on the national scene of the Serrano and Rodriguez cases served to dramatize one of the most persistent problems of school finance reform–the vast differences between the tax bases per pupil and the ability to provide educational services among school districts in the same state. As these cases have highlighted the issue, and as the presence of these inequities have been more widely recognized, the states have begun to consider reform more seriously. One of the major obstacles to the elimination of these fiscal differentials is the apparent cost. Although intuition would argue for a very high cost, there seems to have been no consistent estimates. This article estimates the cost for Texas. Using an estimating equation for shifts in district expenditure under different tax bases and aid patterns, and solving a system of equations for the fiscal equalization, I have derived the estimates. The results are encouraging as the tax bill for such reform may be less than the previously available estimates would lead us to believe.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert W. Gilmer, 1975. "Predicting the Cost of Fiscal Equalization in School Finance," Public Finance Review, , vol. 3(3), pages 261-274, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:3:y:1975:i:3:p:261-274
    DOI: 10.1177/109114217500300303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/109114217500300303
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/109114217500300303?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard A. Musgrave, 1961. "Approaches to a Fiscal Theory of Political Federalism," NBER Chapters, in: Public Finances: Needs, Sources, and Utilization, pages 97-134, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Fabio Fiorillo & Agnese Sacchi, 2012. "The Political Economy of the Standard Level of Services: The Role of Income Distribution," CESifo Working Paper Series 3696, CESifo.
    2. Lisa Grazzini & Alessandro Petretto, 2006. "Vertical Tax Competition with Tax Sharing and Equalization Grants," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 65(1), pages 75-94, May.
    3. Vittoria Idrisova & Lev Freinkman, 2010. "Impact of Federal Transfers over Regional Authorities Behavior," Research Paper Series, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, issue 137P.
    4. Nataliia Yaroshevych & Iryna Kondrat & Tetyana Kalaitan, 2024. "The Impact of the Mechanism for Aligning Horizontal Fiscal Imbalances on the Stability of the Financial System," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-17, February.
    5. M. Mar㈠& M. Sarcinelli, 1994. "The European Union: how to assign the functions of government," Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 47(191), pages 341-377.
    6. Maté Sáncuez-Val, M. & García Pérez De Lema, D. & López Hernández, F., 2009. "La influencia de los efectos espaciales en el crecimiento de la productividad de la PYME/," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 27, pages 283(24á)-28, Abril.
    7. Albouy, David, 2012. "Evaluating the efficiency and equity of federal fiscal equalization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 824-839.
    8. Richard M. Bird, 2008. "Tax Assignment Revisited," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0805, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    9. Bird, Richard M., 1993. "Threading the Fiscal Labyrinth: Some Issues in Fiscal Decentralization," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 46(2), pages 207-227, June.
    10. Hans Pitlik, 2008. "Theoretical Key Elements for a Fundamental Reform of Federal Fiscal Relations," Austrian Economic Quarterly, WIFO, vol. 13(1), pages 22-35, April.
    11. Antonio Zabalza, 2007. "La financiación económica en el Estatuto de Cataluña," Working Papers 0703, International Economics Institute, University of Valencia.
    12. López-Laborda, Julio & Zabalza, Antoni, 2018. "Redistributive effects of regional transfers: a conceptual framework," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 41, pages 53-90.
    13. Bird, Richard M., 1993. "Threading the Fiscal Labyrinth: Some Issues in Fiscal Decentralization," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 46(2), pages 207-27, June.
    14. Beniamino Moro, 2001. "Incentivi fiscali e politiche di sviluppo economico regionale in Europa," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 54(215), pages 343-388.
    15. Economou, Emmanouel/Marios/Lazaros & Kyriazis, Nicholas, 2015. "The Aetolians, the Europeans and the Pakistanis: Lessons for modern federations," MPRA Paper 62974, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Miral, Emmanuel Jr., 2017. "Federalism: Prospects for the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2017-29, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    17. Peter S. Fisher, 1981. "State Equalizing Aids and Metropolitan Tax Base Sharing: A Comparative Analysis," Public Finance Review, , vol. 9(4), pages 449-470, October.
    18. Thiess Buettner & Manuela Krause, 2021. "Fiscal equalization as a driver of tax increases: empirical evidence from Germany," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(1), pages 90-112, February.
    19. Bird, Richard M. & Smart, Michael, 2002. "Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers: International Lessons for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 899-912, June.
    20. Economou, Emmanouel/Marios/Lazaros & Kyriazis, Nicholas, 2015. "The Greek democratic federations and the European Union’s integration," MPRA Paper 62988, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:sae:pubfin:v:3:y:1975:i:3:p:261-274. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.