Effect of a School Finance Reform on Housing Stock and Residential Segregation: Evidence from Proposal A in Michigan

Local financing of public schools in the U.S. leads to a bundling of two distinct choices - residential choice and school choice - and increases the degree of socioeconomic segregation across school districts. A school finance reform can go a long way in weakening this link. In this paper I study the Michigan school finance reform of 1994 (Proposal A) which resulted in a comprehensive equalization of per pupil expenditures. Using panel data on Michigan K-12 districts and data from the decennial censuses I investigate whether the reform had any significant effects on spatial segregation. I find that Proposal A has been responsible for increases in housing stock and property values in the lowest spending school districts, and for improvements in several socioeconomic indicators, implying a decline is neighborhood sorting. However, there is continued high demand for residence in the highest spending communities, which points to the importance of neighborhood peer effects (‘local’ social capital).School finance reform, spatial segregation, Tiebout sorting, peer effects.

Review of How School Choice Can Create Jobs for South Carolina

Roy's review of the South Carolina report finds that it is built on seriously flawed assumptions and offers little insight into the effects of school vouchers. Roy writes that the report relies more on rhetoric and less on authentic research and concludes that it is significantly biased and of little value to policymakers

Topics In High-Energy Physics: The Proton Magnetic Radius And Phenomenology Of Z0 Mediation Of Supersymmetry Breaking

This dissertation describes two topics in high-energy physics. In the first we describe the extraction of the magnetic radius of the proton. In the second we impose LHC constraints on the combined anomaly and Z’ mediation mechanisms of supersymmetry breaking. We combine constraints from analyticity with experimental electron-proton scattering data to determine the proton magnetic radius without model-dependent assumptions on the shape of the form factor. We also study the impact of including electron-neutron scattering data, and ππ ! NN¯ data. Using representative datasets we find for a cut of Q2 ≤ 0:5 GeV2, r pM = 0:91+0:03 −0:06 ± 0:02 fm using just proton scattering data; rMp = 0:87+0 −0: :04 05 ± 0:01 fm adding neutron data; and rMp = 0:87+0 −0: :02 02 fm adding ππ data. We also extract the neutron magnetic radius from these data sets obtaining rMn = 0:89+0 −0: :03 03 fm from the combined proton, neutron, and ππ data. Particle Data Group (PDG) has reported both of these values, rMp = 0:87 ± 0:02 fm and rn M = 0:89 ± 0:03 fm in their 2016 listing of the magnetic radius of the proton and neutron, respectively. Combining anomaly with Z0 mediation allows us to solve the tachyonic problem of the former and avoid fine tuning in the latter. This model includes an extra U(1)0 gauge symmetry and extra singlet scalar S which provides a solution to the ‘µ problem’ of the MSSM. The low-energy particle spectrum is calculated from the UV inputs using the Renormalization Group Equations. The benchmark points considered in the original model, suggested before the Higgs discovery, predicted a Higgs mass close to the current measured value of 125 GeV. We use the current LHC data to update the predictions of the model, its particle spectrum and in particular the mass of the Z0 gauge boson

Redistributing Educational Attainment: Evidence from an Unusual Policy Experiment in India

In 1983 the ruling communists in the Indian state of West Bengal, with the avowed objective of making education more accessible, abolished the teaching of English at the primary level from public schools. I argue that the abolition can be looked upon as a lowering of academic standards, and that the reform is essentially redistributive in nature. Using two large cross-sectional data sets from India I investigate how it affected educational outcomes in West Bengal. Somewhat surprisingly, I find no evidence of a positive effect of the reform, even on the poorest income quartiles. Moreover, private school attendance went up in the rural areas, and there was a large increase in expenditure on private coaching. Both of these indicate that those who can afford to do so were supplementing the education of their children by private purchases, since a knowledge of English has significant benefits later in life. Ironically, the program may have increased the gap between the poorer classes and the others, something it was designed to close.Education Policy, Academic Standards, Inequality and Redistribution

Impact of School Finance Reform on Resource Equalization and Academic Performance: Evidence from Michigan

The state of Michigan radically altered its school finance system in 1994. This was a legislature-led reform that took place somewhat unexpectedly and without the intervention of any courts. The new plan, called Proposal A, significantly increased the state share of K-12 spending and entailed large sums of money to the lowest spending districts. These districts were also allowed to increase their future spending at a much faster rate than others. Concurrently, Proposal A ended local discretion over school spending. Using panel data on K-12 districts from 1990 to 2001 I investigate the impact of Proposal A on distribution of resources and educational outcomes in Michigan. In the process this paper offers a first detailed look at the effectiveness of a legislature-led school finance reform, something which has been debated recently in the literature. I first look at the effect on equalization of school spending. The program was quite successful on this count - by the end of the decade the lowest spending districts had witnessed large increases in spending. The gap between the highest and lowest spending districts had considerably narrowed down. The magnitudes look particularly impressive when compared to the corresponding estimates from court-mandated reforms, even large comprehensive ones like Kentucky (1989). The results are similar for other important indicators – e.g. while at the time of the program there was a large positive relationship between median income in a school district and its K-12 expenditures, this has been significantly weakened post-reform. Next I look at the trends in academic performance. I employ various strategies, including using the changes in state aid formula as instruments for actual spending, to estimate whether the lowest spending districts, the chief beneficiaries, witnessed any additional improvements. The results based on tests administered by the state show significant test score gains by these districts. These gains are robust to alternative control groups, and hold good when I look at the experience of two neighboring states, Indiana and Ohio. However, there is not much evidence of any improved performance by these lowest spending districts in college preparation test (ACT). There is also not much relative improvement, particularly at the lower half of the distribution, in nationally-conducted NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) tests. These findings have significant policy implications. First, these show that state legislatures can initiate and implement a comprehensive school finance reform, even one which is largely redistributive in nature. Second, it is interesting to note the significant academic progress registered by the lowest spending districts in the post-reform period. While not ruling out substantial inefficiencies in the utilization of additional funds, it seems that a lack of resources was partially responsible in holding down achievement in some districts. However, and third, the gains in student achievement look relatively modest, particularly when compared to the large increases in spending. It seems that even complete equalization of school resources across districts will not be enough to ensure complete equality in school outcome measures. One may have to look beyond school financing to issues of school effort and favorable peer group quality.K-12 Education, School Finance, Inequality and Redistribution, Academic Performance