Intergovernmental Grants to School Districts and Educational Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
NBER Working Papers · 2026 · Jeffrey Clemens、Philip G. Hoxie、Stan Veuger
中文摘要
联邦政府通过中小学紧急救助（ESSER）基金向学区拨付了1,895亿美元的疫情援助资金。我们评估了这些资金对贫困人口占比接近5%的学区的学校所产生的影响；在这一阈值附近，由门槛规则驱动的资金增加使我们能够采用差异中的断点设计。联邦资金通过减少地方财政收入（包括房产税）转嫁给了居民，但并未导致学区生均支出增加。我们没有发现额外资金缓解了考试成绩下降的证据。我们提供了提示性证据，表明在符合额外资金资格的学区，政治参与——尤其是家长的政治参与——有所增加。这种政治参与增加与税收减少的结合，或许可以解释我们在此类学区观察到的更高入学率和更快复课。
Abstract
The federal government appropriated $189.5 billion in pandemic aid to school districts through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund. We evaluate their impact on schools with district poverty shares near 5%, where a threshold-driven increase in funds enables us to implement a difference-in-discontinuities design. Federal funds were passed on to residents through reductions in local revenue collections, including property taxes, and did not result in increased per-pupil expenditures by school districts. We find no evidence that additional funds mitigated the declines in test scores. We provide suggestive evidence that political engagement, especially from parents, increased in districts that qualified for additional funds. This combination of engagement and reduced taxation may explain the greater enrollment and faster reopening we observe in such districts.