We examine the relationship between state and local spending per capita on higher education and the performance of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination candidates. State and local governments play an important role in providing access to higher education at public colleges and universities. Because these government bodies face difficult choices in addressing many competing needs, there is substantial variability in the level of spending on higher education per capita across states. This state-level variation presumably leads to differences in the quality of education. We find evidence to support this view. Specifically, we find that the level of spending on higher education per capita has a positive marginal effect on the CPA exam pass rates for public universities. In contrast, the level of spending on higher education per capita has no effect on the CPA exam pass rates for private universities.

我们研究了州人均高等教育支出与地方人均支出与注册会计师考试候选人表现之间的关系。州和地方政府在为公立大学提供高等教育机会方面发挥着重要作用。由于这些政府机构在满足许多竞争需求方面面临艰难的选择，因此各州人均高等教育支出的水平存在很大差异。这种状态变化可能导致教育质量的差异。我们找到证据支持这种观点。具体来说，我们发现人均高等教育支出水平对公立大学的CPA考试及格率有积极的边际影响。相比之下，