Income Inequality, the Median Voter, and the Support for Public Education
Using a panel of U.S. school districts spanning 1970 - 2000, we examine the relationship between income inequality and fiscal support for public education. In contrast with recent theoretical and empirical work suggesting a negative relationship between inequality and public spending, we find results consistent with a median voter model, in which inequality that reduces the median voter's tax share induces higher local spending on public education. We estimate that 12 to 22 percent of the increase in local school spending over this period is attributable to rising inequality.
Non-Technical Summaries
- As income inequality has grown in local school districts, so too have the local dollars flowing into elementary and secondary education...
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