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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 40 No. S1 2022

Does Money Still Matter? Attainment and Earnings Effects of Post-1990 School Finance Reforms

Jesse Rothstein1; Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach2

1 University of California, Berkeley · 2 Northwestern University

open access

Abstract

In two 1992 papers, Card and Krueger used labor market outcomes to study the productivity of school spending. Following their lead, we examine the effects of post-1990 school finance reforms on students’ educational attainment and labor market outcomes. Using a state-by-cohort panel design, we find that reforms increased high school completion and college-going, concentrated among Black students and women, and raised annual earnings. The reforms also increased the return to education, particularly for Black students and men, driven by the return to high school.

DOI
10.1086/717934
Volume
40
Issue
S1
Pages
S141-S178
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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