What Types of School Capital Projects are Voters Willing to Support?

Ron Zimmer, Richard Buddin, John Jones, Na Liu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

In many states, investments in school capital must be approved by bond referenda. Consequently, voter preferences can directly impact the quality of school facilities and their infrastructure. Researchers have often analyzed the causal mechanisms of referendum passage, but they have not examined whether the type of capital project affects the outcome of the referendum itself. In this paper, we use data from the state of Michigan to examine whether voters are willing to provide more or less support for specific types of capital investments. We focus on the relationship between voter support for maintenance versus the construction of a new building or additions to existing buildings. Our analysis suggests there is a higher approval rate for maintenance of existing facilities than the construction of new school buildings or additions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-55
Number of pages19
JournalPublic Budgeting and Finance
Volume31
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Public Administration

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