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Local Politics and the Demand for Public Education

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher B. Colburn

    (Economics Department, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia 23529, USA. ccolburre@odu.edu)

  • John B. Horowitz

    (Economics Department, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306, USA. jhorowitz@bsu.edu)

Abstract

This paper expands on the school finance literature by using a political fragmentation index to calculate how political power affects educational spending in Virginia, USA. The methodology allows the comparison of different political voices relative to each other and the consideration of the role of the distribution of political power. Political fragmentation is considered across several different dimensions, including race, age, income and political parties. Using a demand for local public goods model, it is found that, along with traditional demand variables, the interest-group pressures dominated by the primary beneficiaries (teachers and students) increase educational spending while higher income and a larger percentage of African-Americans in the population reduce educational spending.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher B. Colburn & John B. Horowitz, 2003. "Local Politics and the Demand for Public Education," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(4), pages 797-807, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:40:y:2003:i:4:p:797-807
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098032000083812
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Marie-Estelle Binet, 2013. "The Linear Expenditure System and the Demand for Municipal Public Services: The Median Voter Specification Revisited," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(9), pages 1689-1703, July.
    2. Guido Sechi & Dmitrii Zhitin & Zaiga Krisjane & Maris Berzins, 2022. "Post-Soviet Suburbanization as Part of Broader Metropolitan Change: A Comparative Analysis of Saint Petersburg and Riga," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, July.
    3. Paul N. Thompson & Joseph Whitley, 2017. "The effect of school district and municipal government financial health information on local tax election outcomes: evidence from fiscal stress labels in Ohio," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 265-288, March.
    4. Marie-Estelle Binet, 2011. "Reconsidering the Demand for Municipal Public Goods Specification : Evidence from French Municipalities," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 201120, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    5. Ivo Bischoff & Julia Hauschildt, 2019. "Vocational schools as an instrument of interregional competition—Empirical evidence from German counties [Berufsschulen als Instrument im interregionalen Wettbewerb – Ergebnisse einer Analyse für d," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 39(1), pages 65-89, February.
    6. Ivo Bischoff & Ferry Prasetyia, 2015. "Determinants of local public expenditures on education: empirical evidence for Indonesian districts between 2005 and 2012," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201532, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    7. Niklas Potrafke, 2006. "Parties Matter in Allocating Expenditures: Evidence from Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 652, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Ivo Bischoff & Julia Hauschildt, 2017. "Vocational Schools as an Instrument of Interregional Competition – Empirical Evidence from German Counties," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201722, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    9. Olugbenga Ajilore, 2009. "Elderly Ethnic Fragmentation and Support for Local Public Education," Public Finance Review, , vol. 37(2), pages 217-230, March.

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