Predicting Citizen Support of Tax Increases for Education: A Comparison of Two Social Psychological Perspectives

Abstract

A survey of citizen support of a proposal to increase property taxes for public education was conducted in a school district in Illinois. Two social psychological perspectives predicting support were tested. One perspective, derived from social exchange theory, predicted that citizens would base their support of or opposition to a tax increase primarily on perceived self‐interested economic gain or loss. A second perspective predicted that non‐self‐interested concerns, such as attitudes toward the schools, would determine support of or opposition to a tax increase. Although both models received support, the strongest and mat consistent predictors of tax support among those most likely to be voters were the non‐self‐interested factors. Implications of these findings for public policy and for understanding political behavior are discussed.

Determinants of Voter Turnout in Illinois School Referenda

“…Citizens' hostility to the tax rate may stimulate turnout since it is visibly present on tax bills. Also, parents of private school students and the elderly may turn out to vote against public school referenda because they are paying additional taxes for schools they never use (Button 1992(Button , 1993 Ladd and Wilson 1985; Rasinski and Rosenbaum 1987).…”