Suchergebnisse

THE AUTHORS USE A DYNAMIC TIEBOUT MODEL TO ANALYZE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MOVING FROM A PURELY LOCAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATIONAL FINANCE TO A PURELY STATE SYSTEM IN WHICH EACH STUDENT RECEIVES THE SAME RESOURCES. WHILE MUCH OF THE EDUCATION FINANCE LITERATURE FOCUSES ON THE STATIC OR IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF SUCH A CHANGE, THIS ANALYSIS STUDIES THE DYNAMIC EFFECTS. NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS FOR A CALIBRATED VERSION OF THIS MODEL INDICATE THAT THESE DYNAMIC EFFECTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. COMPARING STEADY STATES, THE AUTHORS FIND THAT AGGREGATE WELFARE INCREASES ON THE ORDER OF 10 PERCENT FOLLOWING THE CONVERSION TO A STATE SYSTEM. THE KEY TO THIS WELFARE GAIN IS THAT A LOCAL SYSTEM YIELDS INEFFICIENTLY LOW INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL OF CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

The importance of combining 'subjective' and 'objective' indicators in assessing the quality of life has been increasingly stated as a research goal. A new methodology for measuring quality of life which is an attempt to satisfy this objective is discussed. It includes a perceptually derived set of weightings and 'objectively' measured indicators of social, economic, and environmental characteristics of the largest thirty-eight cities in Britain. The weighting system, the selected indicators, and the resulting rankings of British cities are assessed in comparison with the local prosperity index. The strength of the approach is shown to lie in the fact that this more closely reflects the evaluation process used by the public in assessing the quality of life.