Welfare state generosity and student performance: Evidence from international student tests

Falch, Torberg and Fischer, Justina AV (2011): Welfare state generosity and student performance: Evidence from international student tests.

Abstract

Student achievement has been identified as important contributor to economic growth. This paper investigates the relationship between redistributive government activities and investment in human capital measured by student performance in international comparative tests in Mathematics and Science during the period 1980 to 2003. In fixed effects panel models, government consumption, government social expenditures, and the progressivity of the income tax system have negative effects on student achievement. The results are robust to a variety of model specifications, including models that condition on educational expenditures. Our best estimate indicates that increased government size by 10 percent reduces student achievement by 0.1 standard deviations

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Student achievement; welfare state; government size; tax system; panel data; international tests
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions; H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C3 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models ; Multiple Variables > C33 - Panel Data Models ; Spatio-temporal Models

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