TUITION TAX CREDITS AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Abstract
This paper develops a model of the political determination of public education quality which is used to examine the implications of introducing tuition tax credits. A "political demand" curve for public education is developed which allows for changes in the identity of the median voter at different quality levels of education. Depending on the significance of education spillovers, this "demand" can decline if tuition tax credits increase the relative attractiveness of private education. However, any final change in quality depends not just on changes in demand but also in the marginal cost of quality. In addition to the standard median voter model, the paper also considers the implications of varying degrees of agenda control by public education bureaucrats.

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