Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The public choice of educational choice

  • Published:
Public Choice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The very small literature explaining (i) how citizens have voted in two California voucher referenda, (ii) how legislators have voted on voucher bills in the State of Florida and the US Congress, and (iii) the variation across states in charter school provisions is summarized. New empirical evidence documenting the cross-state variation in the success of voucher referenda and voucher bills is examined. Voucher bill characteristics and state characteristics play important roles. Voucher bills have been passed only in the more conservative Republican states, and almost all of the successful voucher programs have been targeted at large, struggling school districts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alvarez, D. T. (2003). Determinants of charter law adoption and law strength across states. Undergraduate honors thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

  • Brunner, E., Sonstelie, J., & Thayer, M. (2001). Capitalization and the voucher: An analysis of precinct returns from california’s proposition 174. Journal of Urban Economics, 50(3), 517–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunner, E., & Sonstelie, J. (2003). Homeowners, property values, and the political economy of the school voucher. Journal of Urban Economics, 54(2), 239–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figlio, D. N. (2004). What’s in a grade? School report cards and the housing market. American Economic Review, 94(3), 591–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischel, W. A. (2001). The homevoter hypothesis: How home values influence local government taxation, school finance, and land-use policies. Harvard University Press: Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francis, W. L., & Kenny, L. W. (2000). Up the Political Ladder: Career Paths in U.S. Politics. Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gokcekus, E., Phillips, J. J., & Tower, E. (2004). School choice: Money, race, and congressional voting on vouchers. Public Choice, 119(3–4), 241–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, G. (2003). Florida HB 751. Undergraduate paper, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

  • Hamilton, B. W. & Macauley, M. K. (1991). Determinants and consequences of private-public school choice. Journal of Urban Economics, 29(3), 282–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husted, T. A. & Kenny, L. W. (2000). Evidence on the impact of state government on primary and secondary education and the equity-efficiency trade-off. Journal of Law and Economics, 43(1), 285–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husted, T. A. & Kenny, L. W. (2002). The legacy of serrano: The impact of mandated equal spending on private school enrollment. Southern Economic Journal, 68(3), 566–583.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDade, C. E. (2003). Analysis of the Florida house of representatives vote on the issue of school vouchers. Undergraduate paper, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

  • Sandy, J. (1992). Evaluating the public support for educational vouchers: A case study. Economics of Education Review, 11(3), 249–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, A. B. (1992). Private school enrollment in metropolitan areas. Public Finance Quarterly, 20(3), 298–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiebout, C. (1956). A pure theory of local government expenditures. Journal of Political Economy, 64(1), 16–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, F. K., & Shen, F. X. (2004). Political economy of charter school funding formulas: Exploring state-to-state variations. In DeMoss, K. & Wong, F.K. (eds.), Money, Politics, and Law: Intersections and Conflicts in the Provision of Educational Opportunity, 2004 Yearbook of the American Education Association, 169–196. Eye on Education: Larchmont, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zanzig, B. R. (1997). Measuring the impact of competition in local government education markets on the cognitive achievement of students. Economics of Education Review, 16(4), 431–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lawrence W. Kenny.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kenny, L.W. The public choice of educational choice. Public Choice 124, 205–222 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-005-4762-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-005-4762-z

Keywords

Navigation