The impact of conditional cash transfers on public education expenditures: A political economy approach

We investigate the impact of conditional cash transfers (CCT) on the level of public education expenditures chosen by majority voting. In our model, parents may send their children to work, instead of sending them to (public or private) school. CCT may affect the choice of tax rate by altering the identity and/or the income level of the pivotal voter. Our simulation results explain the increase in education expenditures observed in Mexico and Brazil following the implementation of CCT programs. In Colombia, the pivotal voter is not eligible for the CCT program, which led to the relative stability in education expenditures per student. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.