Economics 4250H
Homepage
-------------------------------------------------------- Mon. Aug. 17
Administration
1. Syllabus
2. Personal
Introduction
a. Education-Why
Economics?
b. Research
c. Family
d.
Background/Interests
e. Request
3. Classroom Dynamics
a. I will ask you many questions in class.
b. Reading--All
students are expected to come to class ready to discuss the day’s
reading.
Participation is an essential component of the course.
c. Students' Substantive Questions. Never
hesitate to ask substantive questions about the material - either in class
or during office hours. At the beginning of each class I will try to ask
whether anyone has questions about the material from previous lectures or
from the reading.
d. Students' Administrative Questions. To
allow me to help people most effectively with the substantive issues, if
you have administrative questions, please go to 1) Syllabus; 2) Web site;
3) Classmates; 4) Me.
4. How to do well
a. Come to
class
b. Do
reading
as it is being covered in class
c. Learn
tools
of economics - graphs, words and equations
d. Use my
class outlines on web site
e. Talk to
me before, rather than after exams
5. Class Website
6. Roll
7. Quiz
------------------------------------------------------- Wed. Aug. 19
8. Research opportunities
1. Introduction to Economics
Required
Reading Becker, Gary S. "Nobel Lecture: The Economic Way of
Looking
at Life," The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 101, Issue 3
(June
1993): 383-409. Just read Section I (Introduction) (JSTOR)
Jessica E. Vascellaro, "The Hot Major for Undergrads is Economics." Wall Street Journal, Tues. July 5, 2005.
A. What is economics?
1.
Misconception
2. Definition
3. Principle/Theory
4. Goal
2. What Does Schooling Do?
Introductory Questions
C. Non-Pecuniary Benefits and Social
Externalities.
Required
Reading Robert H. Haveman. and Barbara L. Wolfe, “Schooling and
Economic Well-Being: The Role of Nonmarket Effects” Journal of
Human
Resources, Vol. 19, n3 (Summer 1984): 377-407 (JSTOR).
Concentrate on Section I. Can skim Section II.
1. Why do
we
subsidize education?
---------------------------------------------------- Mon. Aug. 24
2. Market
failures
a. Externalities
b. Public Goods
c. Information Assymetries
d. Non-Competitive behavior/Monopoly power-Table 1
3. Examples
of non-marketed effects--see table
4.
Estimating
the magnitude and significance of non-market effects
---------------------------------------------------- Wed. Aug. 26
D. Earnings and Rates of Return
Required
Reading Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane, “US Earnings Levels
and
Earnings Inequality: A Review of Recent Trends and Proposed
Explanations.”
Journal
of Economic Literature, Vol. 30, No. 3 (September 1992): 1333-1381
(JSTOR).
Read all sections but just skim Sections IV C & D (can skip algebra parts).
1. How is
inequality measured? See slides on inequality
2. What is
the long-term trend in overall earnings inequality?
3. Along
what
dimensions is inequality changing?
a. Total
------------------------------------------------------- Fri. Aug. 28
b. Race
Optional
Reading
1) Neal and Johnson. 1996. "The Role of Premarket Factors in Black-White Wage Differences", Journal
of Political Economy, Vol. 104 (October): 869-895.
2) Neal. 2004. "The Measured Black-White Wage Gap Among Women is Too Small", Journal
of Political Economy, Vol. 112 (February): S1-S28.
3) Chicago Workshop on Black-White Inequality
c. Gender
Optional
Reading
Konstantopoulos and Constant "Gender Differences Across the Earnings Distribution" IZA, Working Paper #1425.
d. Ability/Skill/Education
Optional
Reading
Juhn, Chinhui, Kevin M. Murphy, and Brooks Pierce. 1993. “Wage Inequality and the Rise in the Returns to Skill,”Journal of
Political Economy, vol. 101, no. 3 (June), 410-442.
Rosen, Sherwin. “The Economics of Superstars,” American Economic Review, vol. 71, 845-858.
e. Experience/Age
------------------------------------------------------- Mon. Aug 31
f. Sector
g. Summary: --Is there too much inequality?
5. What is
responsible for the observed trends (shifts in S&D; institutions)?
a.
Education
b. Compensating
Differences and explaining differences in wage gaps.
c. Ability
d. Other factors
6. To what extent is there
mobility and freedom of opportunity? Can people increase
economic
performance over time?
7. Absolute vs. Relative comparisons. What is happening to those in poverty?
How is poverty calculated?
---------------------------------------------------- Wed. Sep. 9
4. Primary and Secondary Policy Making: Traditional Educational Reforms
A. Overview: The Coleman Report and A Nation at Risk
Required
Reading
National
Commission
on Excellence in Education, A
Nation At Risk (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1983).
You do not have to read the appendices. Focus on the following sections
"Introduction," "A Nation At Risk," "Findings", and "Recommendations"
Optional
Reading
U.S. Department of Education. 2008. "A Nation Accountable: Twenty-five Years After A Nation at Risk." April.
Education Week, "A Nation at Risk: 25 Years Later."
Rothstein, Richard. 2008. "A Nation at Risk Twenty-Five Years Later" Cato Unbound, April 7.
Hess, Frederick M. 2008. "Still at Risk: What Students Dont' Know, Even Now." Washington, DC: Common Core.
1. Political
and educational context of National Commission
2.
Commission's Sources
3.
Commission's
Findings
4.
Commission's
Recommendations
B. The Market for Primary and Secondary Schooling
Who are the players in the educational markets?
1. Elementary and Secondary
2. Higher Education
---------------------------------------------------- Wed. Sep. 30
9. Effects of Teacher characteristics--race, gender, ethnicity
a. Theory
b. Existing patterns of teacher-student distribution
c. Data
---------------------------------------------------- Fri. Oct. 2
d. How do the studies identify the effects?
e. Explanations
f. Results
10. Effects of Teacher Abililty
a. Test scores
b. Quality of college
c. IQ
Note: class ends very early because of power outage.
------------------------------------------------ Mon. Oct 5
Class canceled--Hannah arrives!
------------------------------------------------ Wed. Oct 7
11. Effects of Teacher unionization
Required
Reading:
Hoxby, Caroline M. 1996. "How Teachers' Unions Affect Education Production." Quarterly Journal of Economics. Vol. 111, No. 3 (August): 671-718. Skip the appendix.
Whitmire, Richard A. 2009. "How Teachers Unions Lost the Media." Wall St. Journal, October 9, 2009, p. W13.
Brill, Steven. 2009. "The Rubber Room: The Battle over New York City's Worst Teachers." The New Yorker. Aug. 31.
"Race to the Top Teacher Unions: Friend or Foe?-Pt. 3", Learning Matters. March 25, 2010.
Optional
Reading-can just look briefly at abstracts or conclusions
Kingdon, Geeta and Francis Teal. 2008. "Teacher Unions, Teacher Pay and Student Performance in India: A Pupil Fixed Effects Approach." CESifo Working Paper #2428.
Moe, Terry M. 2009. "Collective Bargaining and the Performance of Public Schools." American Journal of Political Science. Vol. 53, No. 1: 156-174.
Figlio, David N. 2002. "Can Public Schools Buy Better-Qualified Teachers?" Industrial and Labor Relations Review. Vol. 55, No. 4: 686-699.
a. Theory of influence on student outcomes
b. Results
------------------------------------------------ Fri. Oct 9
c. Other effects
Required
Reading: "Teacher's Pets." Wall St. Journal, January 3, p. A24.
12. Effects of Teacher Salaries
Required
Reading:
Hoxby, Caroline M. and Andrew Leigh. 2005. "Wage Distortion." Education Next. Vol. 5, No. 2: Spring: 50-56.
Tomsho, Robert. "More Districts Pay Teachers for Performance." Wall St. Journal, March 23, p. B1.
Glaeser, Edward L. "The Uncertain Impact of Merit Pay for Teachers." The New York Times, Economix Blog, June 8, 2010.
Quote: "With
respect to teachers' salaries, the major problem is not that they are
too low on average--they may well be too high on the average--but that
they are too uniform and rigid. Poor teachers are grossly overpaid adn
good teachers grossly underpaid. Salary schedules tend to be uniform
and determined far more by seniority, degrees received, and teaching
certificates acquired than by merit." Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom, 1962.
5. Primary and Secondary Policy Making: Recent Educational Reforms
A. Deregulation and Increasing Competition in School
a. Montessori Schools
b. Waldorf Schools
c. Home Schooling
1) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
a) NCES. 2008. "1.5 million homeschool students in the United States in 2007." Issues Brief, Dec.
b) NCES. 2006. "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003." Statistical Analysis Report. Feb. 2.
2) National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI)
B. New organizations and initiatives
1. New Orleans: Paul Vallas--rebuilding a school system after Katrina
a. Teach for America--Segment #10
Information on most recent hires
Learning Matters Video series on TFA
2. Washington, DC: Michelle Rhee: new efforts
Rhee, Michelle. 2008. "The Future of Urban Education Reform", Feb. 13.
3. Single Gender schools and classrooms
Schemo, Diana Jean. 2006. "Federal Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education." New York Times, Oct. 25.
Weil, Elizabeth. 2008. "Teaching Boys and Girls Separately." New York Times, March 2.
Medina, Jennifer. 2009. "Boys and Girls Together, Taught Separately in Public School." New York Times, March 10.
National Association for Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE)
4. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
------------------------------------------------ Wed. Oct 14
5. Paying students for grades
a. New York City--$1,000 for AP passing scores
b. New York City Sparks Program (Fryer)
c. Tucson, AZ: sophomores $100
per month for perfect attendance and a C-
d. Coshocton, OH: gift
certificates to local stores for passing state exams
e. Roland Fryer: Education labs: new education initiative in many schools around the nation.
f. Washington, DC: "Capital Gains" program in 15 middle schools. Cannot access money until age 18. Schools choose their own metrics. (Fryer)
g. Texas: rewards for ACT and SAT scores (Kirabo Jackson)
h. Chicago: 20 public high
schools paying 5,000 freshmen. Evaluated every 5 weeks with declining
payment for A, B, C.
6. Race to the Top--2009 federal initiative
7. Reducing the size of schools.
Tulenko, John D. "Small Schools: Big Reforms?" Learning Matters. Dec. 15, 2010.
C. Charter Schools
Required
Reading
Nelson, F. Howard, Bella Rosenberg, Nancy Van Meter. August 2004. "Charter School Achievement on the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress." American Federation of Teachers.
Hoxby, Caroline M. "Achievement in Charter Schools and Regular Public Schools in the United States: Understanding the Differences." Harvard University and National Bureaue of Economic Research Working Paper, December 2004.
Moore, Russ. "Charter School Expands Success Beyond College Prep." Georgia Public Policy Foundation, June, 17, 2005.
Bell, Griffin. "Higher Expectations for Higher Education." Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Jan. 20.
Online learning community for charter schools
State by state summaries (OR)
Drew Charter School--East Lake Foundation
Optional
Reading-can just look briefly at abstracts or conclusions
No
Child Left Behind page. Review the goals, objectives, etc. of the program.
Brian Jacob,
"The
Impact of High-Stakes Testing on Student Achievement: Evidence from
Chicago."
J.
Catterall,
"Standards and School Dropouts: A National Study of Tests Required for
High School Graduation," American Journal of Education, Vol. 98
(November): 1-34.
David Figlio
and Maurice Lucas, "What's
in a Grade? School Report Cards and House Prices," National Bureau
of Economic Research Working Paper #8019.
Stephen J. Dubner, "The Probability That a Real-Estate Agent Is Cheating
You
(and Other Riddles of Modern Life)," The New York Times, 3
August
2003,
Late Edition – Final.
"Testing
for Tracking, Promotion and Graduation," by Jay P. Heubert and
Robert
M. Hauser, Editors,
National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. 1999--read
only from "Executive Summary" down.
American
Psychological
Association "Appropriate
Use of High-Stakes Testing in Our
Nation's Schools"
Required
Reading "Race
Sensitive Policies in Admissions: A 30-year Study," PBS Frontline.
"Interview
with William G. Bowen," PBS Frontline.
"Interview
with Derek Bok," PBS Frontline.
"Interview
with Abigail Thernstrom," PBS Frontline
Thomas Sowell, "Racial
Quotas in College Admissions: A Critique of the Bowen and Bok Study,"
Hoover
Institution Essays in Public Policy, 1999, no. 3.
Ward
Connerly,
"One
Nation, Indivisible," Hoover Digest, 2001, no. 1.
Sara Rimer and Karen W. Arenson, "Top Colleges Take More Blacks, but Which Ones?" The New York Times, June 24, 2004.
Optional
Reading-can just look briefly at abstracts or conclusions
Richard H. Sander. 2004. "A Systematic Analysis of Affirmative Action in American Law Schools." Stanford Law Review, (Nov.): 368-483.
Merit Aid issues
2. Reasons
for implementing merit aid programs
3.
McPherson
and Schapiro discuss merit aid as a prisoner's dilemma
4. Is merit
aid socially productive or unproductive educational spending?
5. What is
the optimal way to distribute students across schools?
6.
Institutional
practices and merit aid
7.
Individual
recipients of merit aid
C. Access and Choice
Required
Reading
"Why
Zell Miller Screws the Democrats. Man from HOPE," The National
Review,
by Jason Zengerle, 2 Feb. 2001
Required
Reading
McPherson and Schapiro, The Student Aid Game, Chapters 3-6.
Cornwell, Mustard and Sridhar, "The
Enrollment Effects of Merit-Based Financial Aid: Evidence from
Georgia's
HOPE Scholarship"--Sections 1-3, 4.1, 4.4, 5 (conclusion)
Boehner, Representative John A. and Representative
Howard P. "Buck" McKeown, "The College Cost Crisis: A Congressional Analysis of College Costs and Implications for America's Higher Education System,"
1.
Definitions
of Access and Choice
2. Why
should
we be concerned about access?
3. Changing
costs and benefits of college degree and changing enrollment rates
a. Tuition costs
b. Opportunity costs
4. How has
funding for college changed? ---- Table 2
a. State and local
b. Federal
c. Tuition
d. Gifts and Edowments
e. Other
5. Effects
across income levels
a. Access and choice
b. Elasticity of Demand
c. Differences by institution type
7. Future of
College
Affordability
a. Demand Side
b. Supply/Finance Side
c. How will institutions respond?
d. McPherson and Schapiro’s exhortation
D. Strategic Responses - students
and
institutions
Required
Reading
McPherson and Schapiro, The Student Aid Game, Chapters 7-9.
Albert B. Crenshaw, "Price
Wars on Campus; Colleges Use Discounts to Draw Best Mix Of Top
Students,
Paying Customers,"
The Washington Post, 15 October 2002, p. A1.
1. How do
government
subsidies affect the price of colleges?
a. Theory of subsidies
-------------------------------------------------------
b. Federal subsidies and the Bennet Hypothesis
c. Federal subsidies under the Clinton administration
d. State subsidies--merit based aid
e. Alternatives
2.
Institutional
responses in admission and financial aid policies
a. Need-blind admissions with various forms of financial aid
b. Admission is a function of ability to pay
c. Admission is a function of likelihood of attending
d. Early acceptance/Early admit
--------------
Review for Final
How should
we subsidize higher education?
7. International Education
A. Vouchers and Faith-Based Schools
Barrera-Osorio, Felipe, Harry Anthony Patrinos, and Quentin Wodon (editors). 2009. Emerging Evidence on Vouchers and Faith-Based Providers in Education: Case Studies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The World Bank: Washington, DC.
E. Course Material Overview
Clarke
County School District, Athens Community, and University of Georgia in
a Partnership for Community Learning Centers
(packet) Julian R. Betts, "Is There a Link Between School Inputs
and Earnings? Fresh Scrutiny of an Old Literature." In Does Money
Matter?
The Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement and Adult Success,
edited by Gary Burtless, Washington, D.C.: pages 141-191.
(packet)
John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe, Politics, Markets and America's
Schools,
The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., Chapter 6.
Jeffrey Groen and Michelle J.
White,
"In-State
versus Out-of-State Students: The Divergence of Interest between Public
Univerisities and Some State Governments."
John Bound, Jeffrey Groen, Gabor
Kezdi
and Sarah Turner, "Trade
in University Training: Cross-State Variation in the Production and Use
of College-Educted Labor," National Bureau of Economic Research
Working Paper #8555.
Ronald G. Ehrenberg and Christopher L.
Smith,
"Within
State Transitions from 2-Year to 4-Year Public Institutions," National
Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #8792.
Stacy Berg Dale and Alan B. Krueger,
"Estimating
the Payoff to Attending A More Selective College: An Application of
Selection
on Observables and Unobservables," National Bureau of Economic
Research
Working Paper #7322.
Peter Arcidiacono and Sean Nicholson, "The
Mirage of Peer Effects: Evidence from U.S. Medical Schools,"
Working
Paper.
Student Presentations
Eric Hanushek, "Publicly
Provided Education," National Bureau of Economic Research
Working
Paper #8799.
Diana B.
Henriques
and Jacques Steinberg, "Woes
for Company Running Schools," New York Times, 14 May 2002.
Hoxby, Caroline M. "How School Choice Affects the Achievement of Public School Students." Harvard University and National Bureaue of Economic Research Working Paper, December 2001.
Note: change outline so there is a first wave and second wave or educational reforms.
Charter Schools
Chester E. Finn Jr., "Charter
Schools in Action," April 10, 2000
Caroline Hoxby, "What
Parents Choose When Given Choices," March 20, 2000
-------------------------------------------------------- Skip in 2005
C. Racial Differences
Required
Reading June O'Neill, "The Role of Human Capital in Earnings
Differences
Between Black and White Men," Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Vol. 4, No. 4 (Fall 1990), pp. 25-45. (JSTOR)
1. Wages
a.
Historical
trends of inequality
b.
Explanations
for changing inequality
2. Education
Names Research
a. Bertrand, Marianne and Sendhil Mullainithan, "Are
Emily and Brendan More Employable than Latoya and Tyrone? Evidence on Racial
Discrimination in the Labor Market from a Large Randomized Experiment,”
September 2004, American Economic Review. http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/mullainathan/papers/emilygreg.pdf.
b. Fryer, Roland G., Jr. and Steven D. Levitt, "The Causes and
Consequences of Distinctively Black Names." Quarterly Journal of
Economics, Vol. 119, Issue 3, August 2004. http://post.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/fryer/papers/qjec_vol119_3.pdf
c. David Figlio. "Names, Expectations, and Black Children's
Achievements" http://bear.cba.ufl.edu/figlio/.
Once at homepage go to "Words" link. This is the first paper.
6. Gender Differences in Education
Required
Reading
Hacker, Andrew. "How
the B.A. Gap Widens the Chasm Between Men and Women." The
Chronicle
of Higher Education, June 20, 2003.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "The
War Against Boys, Part I." The Atlantic Monthly.
Volume
285, No. 5; May 2000, pp. 59-74.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "The
War Against Boys, Part II." The Atlantic Monthly.
Volume
285, No. 5; May 2000, pp. 59-74.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "The
War Against Boys, Part III." The Atlantic Monthly.
Volume
285, No. 5; May 2000, pp. 59-74.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "The
War Against Boys, Part IV." The Atlantic Monthly.
Volume
285, No. 5; May 2000, pp. 59-74.
"Exchange
about The War Against Boys," The Atlantic Monthly.
August
2000; Letters; Volume 286, No. 2; pp. 6-13.
Alyssa Abkowitz, "Bulldog Barbie: How UGA Became White Chick U" Creative Loafing, Feb. 3, 2005.
Kremer, Michael, Edward Miguel, and Rebecca Thornton. 2005. "Incentives to Learn" Education Next.
1) What are the trends in educational attainment by gender?
2) What accounts for these trends in educational attainment?
3) What are some of the implications of these trends?
-------------------------------------------------------- End Skip in 2005
V. Higher Education
Required
Reading
Goldin and Katz, “The Shaping of Higher Education: The Formative Years
in the United States, 1890 to 1940,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives
13 (Winter 1999), pp. 73-62
Cornwell, Lee, and Mustard "The Effects of Merit-Based Financial Aid on Course Enrollment, Withdrawal and Completion in College".
A. Overview/Introduction
1. Supply
of higher education
2. Demand
of higher education
3.
Government
involvement
4.
Differences
from primary and secondary/Differences from higher education in the
world
5.
Participation
B. Historical and Contextual
Background
1. Change
in enrollment rates
2. Trends
in the development of colleges and universities
3. What explains the trends?
4. Differences between private and public institutions
5. What
determines
state support for higher education?
6. History
of student financing in the US
C. Access and Choice
Required
Reading
McPherson and Schapiro, The Student Aid Game, Chapters 3-6.
Cornwell, Mustard and Sridhar, "The
Enrollment Effects of Merit-Based Financial Aid: Evidence from
Georgia's
HOPE Scholarship"--Sections 1-3, 4.1, 4.4, 5 (conclusion)
Boehner, Representative John A. and Representative
Howard P. "Buck" McKeown, "The College Cost Crisis: A Congressional Analysis of College Costs and Implications for America's Higher Education System,"
1.
Definitions
of Access and Choice
2. Why
should
we be concerned about access?
3. Changing
costs and benefits of college degree and changing enrollment rates
a. Tuition costs
b. Opportunity costs
4. How has
funding for college changed? ---- Table 2
a. State and local
b. Federal
c. Tuition
d. Gifts and Edowments
e. Other
5. Effects
across income levels
a. Access and choice
b. Elasticity of Demand
c. Differences by institution type
6. HOPE
Scholarship
and merit-based aid
a. Access-choice
b. Methodology
c. Enrollment changes
1) Total
2) Public 4-year
3) Private 4-year
4) 2-year
5) Black-white/HBCUs
Final Exam - In Normal Classroom