Low Fees, Large Barriers to Education: Evidence from Rate Bill Abolition in the United States

59 Pages Posted: 11 Mar 2021 Last revised: 23 May 2023

Date Written: May 22, 2023

Abstract

Until the late 19th century, families in some U.S. municipalities paid small user fees, known as rate bills, for their children to attend public schools. Urban school districts gradually repealed these fees and funded public education through local taxes, but rural areas continued to charge tuition until state-level policies abolished the practice for public schools. Using United States Census data and a staggered adoption difference-in-differences approach, I show that rate bill abolition increased rural primary school attendance by 7.2 percentage points. These results suggest that small costs can be an obstacle to school attendance and inhibit the diffusion of education.

Keywords: free public education, tuition, rate bill abolition, primary school attendance

JEL Classification: N31, I22, H75

Suggested Citation

Uhrig, Richard, Low Fees, Large Barriers to Education: Evidence from Rate Bill Abolition in the United States (May 22, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3802015 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3802015

Richard Uhrig (Contact Author)

Bureau of Labor Statistics ( email )

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20212
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/view/richarduhrig

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