Sweden and Wisconsin are both early-movers in the school choice trend. In 1990, Wisconsin created the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which became the first school vouchers program in the United States. Sweden introduced its country-wide program the following year. There was a major difference between the Swedish and the Wisconsinite programs from the outset: while Swedish politicians opted for a universal program, their Wisconsinite counterparts opted for a small, means-tested program. All the American states which created vouchers programs in the years that followed also opted for targeted programs.
This paper seeks to explain why policymakers in Sweden and Wisconsin chose these particular policy designs. It argues that the structure of the pre-reform education systems in Sweden and Wisconsin have created different group grievances, which influenced the nature of the political coalitions supporting school choice in these countries. In Sweden, middle-class and higher income parents were the strongest supporters of school choice. Their preferences were articulated by centre-right parties, and not strongly opposed by the largest centre-left opposition party. In Wisconsin, the reform was supported by the Republican Party, but also by a minority of Democratic Party members, who represented majority African-American inner-city ridings.
