Full Citation
Title: Economic Effects of Redistributive Education Policy
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2000
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Abstract: This thesis analyses the economic effects of three education policies. The first chapter evaluates desegregation of large public school districts from 1961 to 1982. Data suggest that high school dropout rates of blacks fell by one to three percentage points from 1970 to 1980 in districts that desegregated in the interim. Black dropout rates remained unchanged in districts that desegregated both before 1970 and after 1980. In contrast, white dropout rates remained unchanged from 1970 to 1980 in districts that desegregated in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Further analysis suggests that while some of the decline in black dropout rates attributed to desegregation may be due to improvements in the characteristics of schools attended by blacks, at least some of the decline should be attributed to peer effects. The second chapter analyzes the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993. This equalization scheme provides more state education aid to school districts that historically spent less on schools. Regression-discontinuity estimates suggest that 60 to 75 cents of each dollar of state education aid are spent on education. The results also suggest that increased education spending leads to increased 4th-grade test scores. There is no evidence that increased spending leads to increased 8 th -grade test scores. It is noted that 4th-graders spent a larger fraction of their education in well-funded schools. Further investigation suggests that the increased 4th-grade test scores came as a result of increased performance by low-scoring students.
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Authors: Guryan, Jonathan
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department: Department of Economics
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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Education, Housing and Segregation, Race and Ethnicity
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