CITIZEN PREFERENCE AND PUBLIC-EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA - AN ANALYSIS OFINTERSTATE DIFFERENCES

In the centrally financed public education system of Australia, inters tate differences in per student educational spending have been interpr eted as measures of efficiency An alternative explanation is that the variation reflects differences in citizen preference. An analysis of a survey of citizen opinion demonstrates that, while the relative effic iency explanation cannot be ruled out, it is likely that the variance in per student expenditures is a reflection of the preferences of the citizens of each State. It appears that States come close to satisfyin g the demands of their median voter.