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THE IMPACT OF FEDERALISM ON EDUCATION FINANCE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS *
Author(s) -
CAMERON DAVID R.,
HOFFERBERT RICHARD I.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1974.tb00752.x
Subject(s) - unitary state , federalism , redistribution (election) , distribution (mathematics) , fiscal federalism , economics , government (linguistics) , political science , order (exchange) , public economics , finance , politics , decentralization , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , law , market economy
Drawing on the implications suggested by several recent studies in comparative public policy, this article examines the impact of the structure of intergovernmental relations on the patterns of distribution of educational funds. The fundamental hypothesis underlying this analysis is that differences in this structure, and in particular the distinction between federal and unitary systems of government, are systematically related to differences in distribution across and within nations. The variations in total educational allocations among eighteen nations in Europe and North America are considered in order to discover whether the aggregate funding of education, relative to a nation's wealth, is related to the structure of intergovernmental relations. Then, in a more intensive analysis, the intranational patterns of distribution are compared in four federal and four unitary systems. This analysis suggests that there is a significant difference between the two types of system in the degree to which educational policy outputs equalize the territorial disparities in wealth and effect a redistribution of funds within the nation.