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Demographic Change and Public Education Spending: A Conflict between Young and Old?

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  • Ueli Grob
  • Stefan C. Wolter

Abstract

Demographic change in industrial countries will influence educational spending in potentially two ways. On the one hand, the decline in the number of school-age children should alleviate the financial pressure. On the other hand, the theoretical/empirical literature has established that the concomitantly increasing proportion of elderly in the population can influence the propensity of politicians to spend on education. Using a panel of the Swiss Cantons for the period from 1990 to 2002, we find that the education system has exhibited little elasticity in adjusting to changes in the school-age population, and that the share of the elderly population has a significantly negative influence on the willingness to spend on public education.

Suggested Citation

  • Ueli Grob & Stefan C. Wolter, 2005. "Demographic Change and Public Education Spending: A Conflict between Young and Old?," CESifo Working Paper Series 1555, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1555
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    public finance; education finance; demographics; panel estimates; Switzerland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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