Accounting for the Danish Public School System: Incentives and Practice

Studying and thereby enhancing the understanding of the behavioral impact of the formula funding models used to allocate funds from the Danish municipalities to the local public school districts is the aim of this dissertation. A framework is proposed which, based on the theoretical understanding of viewing a formula funding model as a package of control, puts forward that the joint effects of the funding model components will determine respectively the actual competitive pressure and level of budgetary risk brought upon the providers, and therefore with it the resulting managerial practice. The framework is applied in two qualitative field studies carried out in two Danish municipalities. The studies reveal that the managerial practice of the management under study is strongly affected by the specific formula funding model design; which influences and determines the scope for action but also the opportunity/danger for more adverse behavioral responses to be triggered. The field studies make plain that the level of competitive pressure and budgetary risk are very influential in ensuring that the funding model is more than a reimbursement system, making it instead a mean through which providers are encouraged to operate prudently and efficiently ensuring also the quality of services. A correct balance of or mix between the level of budgetary risk and competitive pressure must however be found.