Feedback Effects and Coalition Politics in Education Reforms: A Comparison of School Voucher Programs in Sweden and Wisconsin1.

Since 1990, the most important trend in the evolution of education systems in advanced democracies has been the spread of school choice policies. Wisconsin and Sweden were early movers, creating their school voucher programs in 1990 and 1991 respectively. From the outset, there was a difference between the two programs: Sweden's vouchers were universal, Wisconsin's were means tested. This paper explains why, arguing that education policies created different grievances in these countries, which influenced the nature of the political coalitions supporting school choice. Swedish policy makers built an encompassing coalition, whereas Wisconsinites constructed a narrower coalition formed of unusual bedfellows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]