Jon Sonstelie

jsonstelie
Jon Sonstelie
Professor of Economics Emeritus,
University of California, Santa Barbara

Jon Sonstelie is professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also an adjunct fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. His areas of expertise are public finance and urban economics, with a focus on school finance. He co-authored the California School Finance Revenue Manual, which explains the complexities of public school funding in California, and he developed the PPIC School Finance Model for simulating the effects of various school funding formulas. His work includes studies of school budgets and student achievement, state finance and the Master Plan, school resources and academic standards, and the effect of public school quality on private school enrollment. He was previously a research fellow at Resources for the Future. Sonstelie received his PhD in economics from Northwestern University.

updated 2025

Contributing topics
Educational governance & policy
Understanding, measuring & improving student outcomes
Publications by Jon Sonstelie
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Conditions of Education in California, 2008
PACE is bringing back its publication, Conditions of Education in California, to keep the focus on the long-term education reforms required by California. Six policy scholars have contributed to this edition, providing baseline data on school…