Do perceptions about how the government spends tax dollars affect the willingness to pay taxes? We designed a field experiment to test this hypothesis in a natural, high-stakes context and via revealed preferences. We measure perceptions about the share of property tax revenues that fund public schools and the share of property taxes that are…

Mexico's implementation of mandatory teacher assessments in 2013 was part of a group of federal reforms aimed at enhancing the quality of state-run education. The reforms elicited strong opposition from key stakeholders. Building on the idea that policy capacities are the set of capabilities necessary to perform policy functions, we examine the…

The chronic underfunding of early care and education (ECE) is compromising the well-being of educators and the children they teach and threatening the economic security of millions of families in the United States. The current ECE system demands large contributions from the parents of young children, both through payments for ECE services and…

The federal government and the states each invested more than $70 billion in higher education-related spending programs, excluding loans, in academic year 2014, the latest year for which data are available. But that figure, as substantial as it is, does not paint a full picture of federal and state investments in higher education. It excludes the…

In the United States, parents send about 10 percent of elementary and secondary school-age children to private schools, which through their accreditation meet the requirement that students receive an adequate education. By paying out of pocket for their children's private education, these families relieve a financial burden on local, state, and…

Like the federal Pell Grant program, need-based state grant programs are designed to increase access to higher education among low- and moderate-income students. A growing body of research indicates that adequate funding is a necessary but not sufficient condition for successfully achieving this goal. Aid programs that are easy to understand and…

This study quantifies one part of the return to U.S. public investment in college education, namely, the fiscal benefits associated with greater college attainment. College graduates pay much more taxes than those not going to college. Government expenditures are also much less for college graduates than for those without a college education.…

States and localities issue debt to finance projects undertaken by government and, in some cases, by the private sector (bonds issued by states and localities to finance either government operations or certain private-sector activities are known as municipal bonds). The federal government subsidizes the issuance of municipal bonds by offering tax…

Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the second edition of this groundbreaking handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, with particular attention to elementary and secondary education. Chapters from the first edition have been fully updated and revised…

This study is the twelfth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. AASA launched the series in fall 2008 in response to state budget shortfalls, federal buyouts and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing,…

At the heart of progressivism is the belief that government--not big government, or small government, but effective government--has a critical role to play in ensuring the well being of its citizens. Public spending serves an important function in pursuing economic growth objectives while ensuring that gains are widely distributed to promote…

The vast bulk of economic activity in the United States is taxed by the federal government. There are exceptions carved out, primarily for charitable operations, including universities. The rationale is that these organizations serve the public good and should not be reduced in magnitude by the deleterious effects of taxes. Universities in…

This report identifies overall tax burdens faced by low income families, explaining how those burdens would change if certain types of federal income tax cuts were enacted. Using detailed household-level data on incomes and taxes, the report shows how federal income and payroll taxes differ for low income families and how these families benefit…

Compared the willingness of states to invest in higher education and institutional sectors by studying state expenditures and fiscal tax effort. Findings show significant disparities in the ways states finance higher education and its sectors. Poorer states tend to exert more tax effort in public higher education, while wealthier states are less…

Tax and expenditure limitations will accelerate the rate of the slowdown in state and local government growth and may increase both the interdependence of governmental units and the centralization of the system at the state level. Journal availability: see EA 511 898. (Author/IRT)