Resource Allocation in Public Basic Education in Brazil: Drivers and Outcomes of the Utilization of PDDE Funds

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This paper investigates the underutilization of funds provided by the Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola (PDDE), a Brazilian government initiative designed to directly finance public K-12 schools for maintenance, pedagogical projects, and minor renovations. Contrary to traditional economic assumptions that schools will fully spend available resources, we find a significant portion of PDDE funds remains unused. This is particularly surprising given the acute need for more investment in Brazil’s basic education, which suffers from low investment levels compared to OECD countries. Through an analysis of data from S ̃ao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, we reveal that approximately 50% of the total budget remains unused, with the utilization in a downward trend over the past decade despite many attempts to incentivize the use. This paper explores the mechanisms behind budget utilization in schools, starting with an OLS analysis of how school profiles and funding access influence spending patterns, then examining the response to the 2018 introduction of the PDDE card as a quasi-natural experiment to drive usage. We then further investigate the impact of PDDE budget spending on educational outcomes by incorporating ENEM scores into the analysis, providing initial insights into the efficacy of funding strategies in improving educational quality.

Author	Zancaneli, Diego
Advisor	Bloom, Nicholas

Subject	Brazil
Subject	Basic education
Subject	Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola
Subject	Educational Policy
Subject	School management and organization
Subject	Schools > Decentralization
Genre	Text
Genre	Thesis

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/zj622gt9110, https://doi.org/10.25740/zj622gt9110
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/zj622gt9110

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred citation: Zancaneli, D. (2024). Resource Allocation in Public Basic Education in Brazil: Drivers and Outcomes of the Utilization of PDDE Funds. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/zj622gt9110. https://doi.org/10.25740/zj622gt9110.

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Honors Theses

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