Does Governmental Condition Really Matter in Charter School Adoption?

Abstract

Charter schools are generally considered to be implemented in order to achieve the educational needs and desires that parents have for their children, according to the school choice model. However, adoption of charter schools can also depend on various government conditions, such as the availability of resources. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine whether charter schools are more commonly adopted under favorable government conditions. Using a panel data set from 45 counties in California between 2001 and 2012, our analysis demonstrates that charter schools are more commonly adopted when the government has many financial slacks.

Keywords: charter schools, policy diffusion, policy adoption