Abstract
In this chapter I describe the treatment of disadvantaged families in the United States education system today, and present an economics perspective regarding the likely consequences of education reforms, both popular and lesstested, in terms of improving the life outcomes of disadvantaged children. In this chapter I concentrate on the potential education reforms where economics offers the most insight-policies concerning school spending and class size; teacher quality and teacher compensation; and other market-based policies such as school choice and school accountability. In each case I describe the rationales for the proposed policies and discuss the distributional consequences of the policies, especially the potential effects on disadvantaged children, should the policies be universally adopted.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Making the Work-Based Safety Net Work Better |
| Subtitle of host publication | Forward-Looking Policies to Help Low-Income Families |
| Publisher | Russell Sage Foundation |
| Pages | 149-182 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780871544667 |
| State | Published - 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Social Sciences