The Economic History of School Finance in the United States

This paper argues that the components of educa­tional provisions which satisfy private demands, mythology aside, almost invariably win out over the public goods components. If true, this leads, on the one hand, to a diminished supply of social benefits, and, on the other, to a stifling of social mobility. Insofar as these arguments are correct, they also may apply in most coun­tries of the world, whether capitalist or socialist.

This article was originally published in the Journal of Education Finance by the University of Illinois Press and Journal Storage (JSTOR).