| This dissertation explores various issues in the economics of education. The state of Michigan radically altered its school finance system in 1994. This was a legislature-led reform that took place somewhat unexpectedly and without the intervention of any courts. The new plan, called Proposal A, significantly increased state aid to the lowest spending districts. I investigate the impact of Proposal A on distribution of resources and educational outcomes in Michigan. In the process this paper offers a first detailed look at the effectiveness of a legislature-led school finance reform. I find that Proposal A was successful in reducing inter-district spending disparities. The effect on academic performance is more modest, though there is evidence of gains by the lowest spending districts.;Local financing of public schools in the U.S. leads to a bundling of two distinct choices---residential choice and school choice---and increases the degree of socioeconomic segregation. A school finance reform like Proposal A can go a long way in weakening this link. In the second paper I investigate whether Proposal A affected housing stock, property values and inter-district movements of households in Michigan. I find that Proposal A has been responsible for some increases in housing stock and property values in the lowest spending districts, and for improvements in some socioeconomic indicators. However, there is continued high demand for residences in the highest spending districts.;In 1983 the ruling communists in the Indian state of West Bengal, trying to make education more accessible, abolished the teaching of English at the primary level from public schools. I argue that the abolition was a lowering of academic standards, and that the reform is redistributive in nature. Using two large cross-sectional data sets from India, in the third paper I investigate how it affected educational outcomes in West Bengal. Somewhat surprisingly, I find no evidence of a positive effect, even on the poorest groups. Moreover, private school attendance went up, and there was a large increase in expenditure on private coaching. These indicate that many people were supplementing the education of their children by private purchases. |
