What Works and for Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments across the U.S

Barbara Biasi (), Julien Lafortune () and David Schönholzer ()
Additional contact information
Barbara Biasi: Yale School of Management
Julien Lafortune: Public Policy Institute of California
David Schönholzer: Stockholm University

No 16713, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper identifies which investments in school facilities help students and are valued by homeowners. Using novel data on school district bonds, test scores, and house prices for 29 U.S. states and a research design that exploits close elections with staggered timing, we show that increased school capital spending raises test scores and house prices on average. However, impacts differ vastly across types of funded projects. Spending on basic infrastructure (such as HVAC) or on the removal of pollutants raises test scores but not house prices; conversely, spending on athletic facilities raises house prices but not test scores. Socio-economically disadvantaged districts benefit more from capital outlays, even conditioning on project type and the existing capital stock. Our estimates suggest that closing the spending gap between high- and low-SES districts and targeting spending towards high-impact projects may close as much as 25% of the observed achievement gap between these districts.

Keywords: school expenditures; school capital; test scores; real estate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H41 H75 I22 I24 R30 R53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 99 pages
Date: 2024-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ppm and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Quarterly Journal of Economics , 18 February 2025

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Related works:
Working Paper: What Works and for Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments across the U.S (2024)
Working Paper: What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S (2024)
Working Paper: What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S (2024)
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