School Spending and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Revenue Limit Elections in Wisconsin
利用威斯康星州学校收入限额公投的接近选举数据，发现运营支出增加显著提升考试成绩、降低辍学率并提高大学入学率，而资本支出影响甚微。
This study examines the impacts of two distinct types of school spending on student outcomes. State-imposed revenue limits cap the total amount of revenue that a school district in Wisconsin can raise unless the district holds a referendum asking voters to exceed the cap. Importantly, Wisconsin law requires districts to hold separate referenda for operational and capital expenditures, which allows for estimating their independent effects. Leveraging close elections in a dynamic regression discontinuity framework, I find that increases in operational spending have substantial positive effects on test scores, dropout rates, and postsecondary enrollment, but additional capital expenditures have little impact.