Essays on the Political Economy of Education Reforms

Abstract

“Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools. Scholars will be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.” Thomas Edison, 1913A century after the great inventor Thomas Edison’s bold prediction about the future of education, we find ourselves in an era where the school system looks strikingly similar to that of a hundred years ago. Teachers still make lectures in front of students, and students still take notes from the blackboard. The motivation for my research springs from the puzzle of why Thomas Edison was sorely mistaken. My work engages with the study of the political economy of education policy formation and the dynamics affecting the passage of education reforms. This dissertation revolves around a few basic questions. What political and economic environment engenders reforms in education? Through which mechanisms do interest groups influence the composition of education policy? What role does social mobility play in the way democratic processes shape education reforms? To answer these questions, I use variations of a unique dataset on education reforms, which I compiled from state-level education legislation in the United States.