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About
Christopher Candelaria is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. His research interests include teacher labor markets, education finance policy, and Federal and state-level accountability. Professor Candelaria uses economic theory and econometrics to evaluate policies and better understand issues in education policy. Some of his current work includes estimating the causal effect of court-ordered finance reforms on revenues and graduation rates during the so-called Adequacy Era; estimating and characterizing the longer-term effects that teachers have on student achievement; and evaluating policies associated with NCLB waivers on student outcomes and resources.
Prior to his doctoral studies, Professor Candelaria worked for four years as a research associate in the economic research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He has also worked as a high school math teaching assistant for the Los Angeles Unified School District
Publications
Edwards, D. S., Kraft, M. A., Christian, A., & Candelaria, C. A. (2024). Teacher shortages: A framework for understanding and predicting vacancies. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737241235224
Sun, M., Candelaria, C. A., Knight, D., LeClair, Z., Kabourek, S. E., & Chang, K. (2024). The effects and local implementation of school finance reforms on teacher salary, hiring, and turnover. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231213880
McNeill, S. M., & Candelaria, C. A. (2024). Paying for school finance reforms: How states raise revenues to fund increases in elementary-secondary education expenditures. American Educational Research Journal, 61(5), 953-990. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312241264320
Candelaria, C. A., Fazlul, I., Koedel, C., & Shores, K. A. (2024). Weighting for progressivity? An analysis of implicit tradeoffs associated with weighted student funding in Tennessee. Economics of Education Review, 103, 102600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102600
Knight, D. S., Candelaria, C. A., Sun, M., Almasi, P., Xu, L., Liu, A. (2024). Teacher retention and turnover during the COVID-19 era: How changes in attrition differed across teachers and schools in Washington State. University of Washington.
Shores, K. A., Candelaria, C., Kabourek, S. E. (2023). Spending more on the poor? A comprehensive summary of state-specific responses to school finance reforms from 1990–2014. Education Finance and Policy, 18(3), 395–422. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00360
Knight, D. S., Hassairi, N., Candelaria, C. A., Sun, M., & Plecki, M. L. (2022). Prioritizing school finance equity during an economic downturn: Recommendations for state policy makers. Education Finance and Policy, 17(1), 188-199. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00356
Shores, K., & Candelaria, C. (2020). Get real! Inflation adjustments of educational finance data. Educational Researcher, 49(1), 71-74. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X19890338
Candelaria, C. A., Shores, K. A. (2019). Court-ordered finance reforms in the adequacy era: Heterogeneous causal effects and sensitivity. Education Finance and Policy, 14(1), 31-60. https://doi.org/10.1162/edfp_a_00236
Caballero, J., Candelaria, C., & Hale, G. (2018). Bank linkages and international trade. Journal of International Economics, 115, 30-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2018.08.006
Whitney, C. R., & Candelaria, C. A. (2017). The effects of No Child Left Behind on children’s socioemotional outcomes. AERA Open, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858417726324
Candelaria, C., Daly, M., & Hale, G. (2015). Persistence of regional wage differences in China. Pacific Economic Review, 20(3), 365-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0106.12113
Research Interests
Focus Areas
- School finance
- Teacher labor markets
Education
Ph.D., Economics of Education and Education Policy, Stanford University
M.A. Economics, Stanford University
B.A., Economics, Stanford University