The Prediction of State-Level Funding Effort and Distribution on the Basis of Average Voter Ideology

• In Event: Issues in Education Finance and Policy

Abstract

States differ markedly in their funding for public schools, both in terms of the fiscal effort that is undertaken and the progressivity with which funds are distributed. Yet, less is known about why different states have enacted such different policies and financing systems. In this study, the relationships between state-level average voter ideology and two funding metrics, funding effort and funding distribution, are examined. Average voter ideology was found to relate strongly and positively to school funding effort, such that more progressive states show significantly more effort. Conversely, the relationship between average voter ideology and school funding distribution was non-significant, as were several other predictors. Implications of these findings in terms of policy are discussed.

Author

• Joel R Malin, Miami University - Oxford