The Impact of Direct Democracy on Society - Universität St.Gallen

– 234 –Regarding the direct impact <strong>of</strong> direct democracy on student test scores, the findings indicate aperformance enhancing effect for mathematics and an insignificant one for reading andnatural science. This result is completely in contrast to the performance lowering influence <strong>of</strong>tax limits detected when endogenous input variables are controlled for. This observation maybe related to the finding by DOWNES et al (1998) <strong>of</strong> a deleterious effect for both the reducedand the structural form <strong>of</strong> the educational production function 264 .A conjecture about reallocation between test subjects is possible if the results in the structuralforms for several test subjects are compared. Based on such a comparison, it might beconcluded that a reallocation <strong>of</strong> given means between school subjects, particularly a shift <strong>of</strong>given resources to mathematics, could have occurred. However, given that the regressionresults reflect only a small portion <strong>of</strong> the school curriculum, it is unclear whether theadditional resources for mathematics have been withdrawn from these two specific schoolsubjects or from other school subjects. What is clear, however, is that this reallocation is tothe advantage <strong>of</strong> mathematics in more directly democratic cantons.7 ConclusionFor the U.S., FIGLIO (1997) shows that local tax limits which reduced local revenue andspending lead to larger class sizes, lower teacher wages, and worse teacher quality but not toany reduction in administrative personnel. <strong>The</strong>se results suggest that instead <strong>of</strong> the expectedefficiency gains in the provision <strong>of</strong> this public good <strong>of</strong> schooling, a decline in the quality <strong>of</strong>educational service must have occurred. This decline in academic achievement is indeedreflected and corroborated by recent analyses <strong>of</strong> the impact <strong>of</strong> tax limits on studentperformances in the U.S. (e.g. FIGLIO and RUEBEN 2001). Such tax limits were demanded byand implemented through citizen's initiatives, an institution <strong>of</strong> direct legislation, in variousU.S. states. Based on these results for the U.S., a test score decreasing impact <strong>of</strong> directdemocracy on student achievement would not be surprising for Switzerland, as its politicalinstitutions have been shown to restrain subfederal expenses for schooling.This study aims to provide such evidence for similar or dissimilar effects <strong>of</strong> direct legislationon public education in Switzerland. Using a cross section <strong>of</strong> individual data on student264 <strong>The</strong> endogenous input factors are student-teacher ratios in the district, mean teaching experience <strong>of</strong> teachers,and the share <strong>of</strong> highly qualified teachers.