Priceless Benefits: Effects of School Spending on Child Mortality

• In Event: 20855 - Morbidity and Mortality

Abstract

Focusing on academic and economic outcomes misses social benefits of school spending for child health and well-being. We use close school district tax elections 1995-2018, National Vital Statistics mortality data, and negative binomial regression models to estimate effects of a quasi-random increase in school spending on county child mortality. We find that increased school spending from passing a tax election reduces child mortality. Districts that narrowly passed a proposed tax increase spent an additional $255 per pupil, mostly on instruction and salaries, and had 4% lower child mortality after spending increased (6-10 years after the election). This increased spending also reduced child deaths of despair (due to drugs, alcohol, or suicide) by 5% and child deaths due to accidents by 7%. Estimates predicting potential mechanisms suggest that lower child mortality partly reflects increases in the number of teachers and counselors, higher teacher salaries, and improved student engagement.

Authors

• Emily Rauscher, Brown University

• Greer Mellon, Brown University

• Susanna Loeb, Brown University