ERIC Number: EJ1365177
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-4086
EISSN: EISSN-1545-701X
Is School Funding Unequal in Latin America? A Cross-Country Analysis of Interregional Disparities in Public Spending
Bertoni, Eleonora; Elacqua, Gregory; Marotta, Luana; Martínez, Matías; Santos, Humberto; Soares, Sammara
Comparative Education Review, v67 n1 p100-122 Feb 2023
Education spending has increased significantly in Latin America, but less is known about how resources are distributed. Using original data, this study measures the inequality in per-pupil spending between regions with different levels of socioeconomic status within Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. We find that Brazil has the widest funding gap due to inequalities in local revenues between high- and low-socioeconomic-status regions. However, the country's funding gap has narrowed over time. School funding in Colombia has become more regressive, but its gap is half the size of the gap in Brazil. The distribution of school funding in Peru has changed from being regressive to progressive. Education spending in Chile and in Ecuador is consistently progressive. However, while the progressiveness of funding in Ecuador is driven by transfers targeted at disadvantaged rural areas, the funding formulas in Chile address socioeconomic inequalities beyond the rural-urban gap.
Descriptors: Expenditures, Rural Urban Differences, Educational Finance, Expenditure per Student, Foreign Countries, Cross Cultural Studies, Socioeconomic Status, Disadvantaged, Geographic Regions
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Latin America; Chile; Colombia; Ecuador; Brazil; Peru
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A