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Financing Public Education Facilities: The Role of Elderly Populations and Geographic Mobility
Author(s) -
Schlaffer James S.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12388
Subject(s) - opposition (politics) , voting , population , bond , demographic economics , logistic regression , gerontology , demography , economic growth , sociology , economics , political science , medicine , finance , politics , law
Objectives The objective of this study was to explore how the age distribution of voters and their mobility affects the probability of passing bonds for the purpose of improving education facilities and to demonstrate the differential motivations within elderly populations rather than viewing elderly voters as a single voting bloc. Method The study examines California education bond results using logistic regressions to determine the effect that the elderly population as a percent of the population has on the probability of passage. The study also includes the percentage of the elderly population that recently moved into the school district to account for differences in community connection among elderly populations. Result The result of the study determines that the effect of recent elderly movers on the probability of bond passage is found to be negative, whereas no evidence is found that older households resist educational funding. Conclusion The conclusion of this study is that part of the reason why the previous literature surrounding the “Gray Peril” has been inconclusive is that the elderly population is not uniform in its opposition to education spending and that other factors such as community connection help determine the strength of that opposition in the elderly community.