Economics 4250
Economics of Education
David B. Mustard

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“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.” 
(A Nation at Risk, 1983)

 
Purpose
      Education is one of our country's largest industries. Educational expenditures in 1994 were 7.5% of GNP, double that of 1950. About 50 million people are currently enrolled in elementary and secondary schools, and an additional 15 million are enrolled in schools of higher education. A sector this large poses many serious policy questions—especially because it lacks much of the competitive discipline present in profit making sectors of the economy. 
       Education-related issues are some of the most hotly debated items at the national, state and local levels. Education affects the productivity of the labor force, individual earnings, the distribution of income, and economic growth. Understanding economics is essential to fully understanding these issues. This course applies economic principles to analyze primary, secondary and post-secondary education and discuss the implications for educational policy. It examines the the relationship between schools and the labor market, including the relationship between education and inequality? The course analyzes how education is organized and delivered, and the efficacy of traditional reforms such as increasing teacher salaries, decreasing the student-teacher ratio, and requiring teachers to obtain higher degrees. It also studies more recent reforms, such as high-stakes testing, charter schools, educational management organization, and vouchers. In higher education, we study the impacts of affirmative action, racial preferences in admissions, and the recent trend of shifting funding away from need-based aid towards merit based aid, such as the HOPE Scholarship. 


 
Course Objectives
      Students are expected to attend class, complete the assigned readings and discuss the readings articulately in class. Students should also learn how to evaluate educational reforms and policies. The capstone of the course will be a large-scale group research project that contains both written and oral components. 

Web Site
      The class website contains the syllabus, announcements, outline of class notes, links to required reading, exam preparation information, and other class resources. You are responsible for checking the class web site daily. All announcements and changes will be posted there. If you have administrative questions, please check the web site first. 


 
Required Reading
  Articles from scholarly journals and the popular press are linked from the website.
  A small packet of articles may be made available from Baxter St. Bookstore. I will let you know when the packet is available. 


 
In-Class Expectations
   All students are expected to come to class ready to discuss the day’s reading. Participation is an essential component of the course. Because unexpected situations occur, everyone will have two opportunities during the term of taking a free day, on which you will not be called on to discuss the assigned reading. Let me know before class if you would like to use a free day. However, you should still come to class on those days. 


 
Examinations and Grading
   The course grade will be based on the following: 
     1. Reading the assigned material and participating in class discussion (15% of overall grade). 
     2. Midterms (30% total; 15% apiece). There will be 2 midterms for 15% apiece. They are tentatively scheduled for
     Thursday 14 February 2008.
     Thursday 27 March 2008
     3. Final Exam (30%)—Tue. 6 May 2008 at 8-11 am.
     4. One research paper, as described below, including presentation (25%).

     Exams will be based on both the class notes and required reading.

Midterm Policy
     You are required to take the midterms unless you have some justifiable excuse, such as a personal illness or family emergency. If a student has an emergency and will be unable to take the midterm at the assigned time, you should talk to me as soon as possible--before the midterm. After discussing your situation I may permit a make-up exam. Each student will be permitted at most one make-up exam during the semester. In the event of a make-up exam, students are forbidden from either providing or receiving information about the exam. Students who violate this will receive a score of "0" for that midterm.

Final Exam Policy
  Failure to take the final exam at the scheduled time will result in a grade of zero. Therefore, if you know that you will not be able to take the final at the assigned time, you should not take this course. Two exceptions to this rule are: 

    (1) You have another exam scheduled for the same time or three exams scheduled on the same day, and that Economics 2106 is your lowest numbered course. The procedure for rescheduling final exam conflicts has been revised. You are are no longer required to go to the Office of CurriculumSystems to fill out the necessary paperwork. Instead, you can complete the necessary forms on-line from: www.bulletin.uga.edu and www.curriculumsystems.uga.edu
    In this case please let me know one week prior to the last day of classes. 

    (2) if the Office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs (110 Old College) verifies that you have a family emergency or personal illness. If this occurs please let me know before the exam or as soon as possible after the exam. 

The midterm exam grades will be posted on the site as soon as they are finished, and will include an approximate breakdown of scores into A, B, C, D and F ranges. However, I record your grades as test scores, not as letter grades. After the final, the both your final exam score and your letter grade for the course will be posted. 

The first day of classes is Tue. 8 January 2008.
The last day to withdraw is Tue. 4 March 2008.
The last day of class will be Thurs. 24 April 2008.

No extra credit will be given for the course. 

Academic Honesty: UGA's Academic Honesty Policy will be strictly enforced in this course. I strongly urge you to become familiar with the section on prohibited conduct. 
 

Research Project
   An important part of this class is working on a group research project. I will make some suggestions about ideas, but will leave it up to you to choose a final topic. I encourage the papers to use statistical data or other primary information, such as meeting minutes, interviews, or administrative information. See the papers link for more information about the paper. 

 

Course Field Trip
  I am working to set up a field trip to the Drew Charter School in East Lake Atlanta. Because this is a demand outside of the normal class period, I will cancel a class or two during the semester. We will NOT have class on Thursday Jan. 24.

 
Course Outline
   A detailed outline is on the web site's course outline will be updated during the semester.