The effects of an Educational Funding Reform on Regional Inequality in Brazil

This paper investigates the effects of a funding education reform implemented in Brazil in 1998 (FUNDEF/FUNDEB), which largely increased the spending per pupil across country. The study analyses whether the redistributive effect of the reform was able to reduce inequality in terms of schools resources between poor and rich regions. Secondly it verifies whether the increase in the availability of resources to schools brought by the reform translate into higher students’ performance. The results suggest a decrease in the inequality of school resources within and to some extend among regions. There is also some evidence of a positive effect on students test scores.