Empirical Evidence on Educational Policy Preferences in Japan:

Focusing on the Size and Distribution of Public Spending

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Japanese people’s educational policy preferences. In particular, we focus on the distinction between the size and the distribution of public spending. Although both the size and the distribution of resources affect educational inequality, the previous literature has not examined the relationship between the two. We establish a micro-level explanation based on public opinion and hypothesize that interest in policy outcomes and norms of equality determine preferences in educational policy.

The data consist of 1,220 individuals aged between 20 and 79 in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The dependent variables are ( 1 ) people’s willingness to pay tax to promote public education, ( 2 ) people’s priorities when allocating resources among different levels of education, and ( 3 ) the relative desirability of financing between elite and non-elite institutions. The independent variables include sex, age, educational background, household income, party identification, employment, and having a child under 18.

First, while educational background and household income do not help to explain support for the taxation of public spending, people having a child under 18 and leftist ideas are likely to tolerate tax increases to expand public education. Second, highly-educated people want resources to be allocated to lower-level education. On the other hand, left-wing people advocate the distribution of resources to higher-level education. Third, individuals with university degrees tend to support the concentration of public spending on elite institutions. In contrast, individuals identifying with the left are likely to favor non-elite institutions. We also discuss the theoretical implications regarding regressive taxation on higher education and social closure among socio-economically advantaged people.