Educational inequality and teacher appreciation: an analysis of the convergence of Ideb conditioned to the financing of public basic education

Abstract

This research objective is to analyze educational inequalities across Brazilian major regions and municipalities according to the results of the Basic Education Development Index (Ideb) conditioned by funding from the Basic Education Maintenance and Development Fund (Fundeb). The main research hypothesis is that the result of educational funding policy is influenced by institutional quality. The analysis employed a conditional income convergence model adapted for the Ideb’s initial years of Basic Education. The relationship between educational funding and the growth of Ideb was estimated using Two-Stage Least Squares (MQ2E) to instrumentalize Fundeb through variables of the quality of municipal institutions. The research results confirm the hypothesis that institutional quality is statistically relevant to explain the growth of Ideb and its inequalities. With this endogenous specification, the effect of funding on Ideb is strongly increased, which demonstrates the importance of valuing teachers and improving institutions for the development of Basic Education.