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The Political Consequences of Controversial Education Reform: Lessons from Wisconsin’s Act 10

Author

Listed:
  • Biasi, Barbara

    (Yale School of Management)

  • Sandholtz, Wayne Aaron

    (Nova School of Business and Economics)

Abstract

Public service reforms often provoke political backlash. Can they also yield political benefits for the politicians who champion them? We study a Wisconsin law that weakened teachers' unions and liberalized pay, prompting mass protests. Exploiting its staggered implementation across school districts, we find that the reform cut union revenues, raised student test scores, and increased pay for some teachers. Exposure to the law increased the incumbent governor's vote share by about 20% of his margin of victory and reduced campaign contributions to his opponent. Gains were larger in districts with stronger unions ex ante and in those where more voters benefited from the reform. Our findings highlight how even politically risky reforms can generate electoral benefits under the right circumstances.

Suggested Citation

  • Biasi, Barbara & Sandholtz, Wayne Aaron, 2025. "The Political Consequences of Controversial Education Reform: Lessons from Wisconsin’s Act 10," IZA Discussion Papers 17836, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17836
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Teacher Salaries; Collective Bargaining; Political Feasibility; Education Reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • P46 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty
    • P11 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Planning, Coordination, and Reform
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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