Effects of socioeconomic redistribution of school resources

Effects of socioeconomic redistribution of school resources

Allocating more resources to schools serving socioeconomically disadvantaged students is one way to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes. But how effective is such redistribution, and which students benefit the most?

In this project, we examine how socioeconomic school funding affects school spending and student outcomes. We study a reform of Stockholm's school funding formula introduced in 2012. The reform redistributed resources from schools serving more advantaged students toward schools serving more disadvantaged students, while keeping the overall budget unchanged.

By exploiting reform-induced variation in school funding, we investigate how additional resources affect school expenditures and how schools allocate these resources. We also examine effects on student outcomes and whether these effects differ across student groups. The project thus aims to provide evidence on whether socioeconomic redistribution of school resources can reduce educational inequalities without increasing overall spending.

Project leader

Lisa Laun

Other project participants

Lena Hensvik, Mattias Folkestad