Mary Ellen Benedict

Seating Location in Large Lectures: Are Seating Preferences or Location Related to Course Performance?.

Using data on individuals taking principles of economics courses in large lecture rooms, the authors investigate whether a students seating preference is related to success in the classroom. They find that individuals who prefer to sit near the front of the room have a higher probability of receiving As, whereas those who prefer the back have a higher probability of receiving Ds and Fs. A preference for sitting in the back, regardless whether one did so, increased the probability of receiving a D or F by 23 percentage points. Students unable to sit in their preferred locations and forced forward tend to receive higher grades, despite their preferences for back seats. Seating preferences and final seat location may be separate factors affecting grade performance. How instructors should teach large lectures is unclear. Developing seating distribution that addresses learning needs may impose high opportunity costs on students who have reasons unrelated to learning for their seating choices.

Pensions and Wages: An Hedonic Price Theory Approach

This paper examines whether a tradeoff exists between the level of pension benefits and wages for comparably skilled workers. The 1983 survey of Consumer Finances is used to match detailed information on pension plans to detailed personal characteristics of a random sample of the population. The pension wage tradeoff is estimated using both a life-tine or contractual model of the labor market and the spot market model used in previous studies. The results indicate a large negative tradeoff in the contractual model but only a negligible tradeoff in the spot market model. Results from estimating the underlying structural supply and demand equation for pensions are also presented.

Who's Afraid of Their Economics Classes? Why are Students Apprehensive about Introductory Economics Courses? An Empirical Investigation

This paper investigates why students are apprehensive about their principles of economics classes. Using data collected on 399 students from a large, midwestem public university in the 1998 academic year, the authors examine whether there are demographic differences in levels of apprehension and what are the reported reasons for apprehension. The study includes a descriptive analysis and a probit analysis and concludes that: (1) course reputation is the main reason reported by students as the reason for being apprehensive; (2) females tend to be more apprehensive than males; and (3) increased math ability reduces apprehension levels for males and females. The authors suggest that preparatory sessions for those students weak in mathematics and alternative teaching methodologies may reduce the level of apprehension in the introductory courses.

The Impact of Bargainer Experience on Teacher Strikes

Using data on Pennsylvania public schools for the period 1978–84, the authors investigate the effects of bargainer experience on the frequency and duration of strikes. They find that increases in the negotiation experience of the chief or principal bargainer on either side, as well as increases in the experience of the two bargainers combined, reduce both the frequency and duration of strikes, suggesting that experienced bargainers are more adept than inexperienced bargainers at learning the minimum payoffs demanded by their opponents and conveying their own true positions. Also, strikes are less likely to occur the more equal the experience levels of the two chief bargainers.

THE IMPACT OF PENSION BENEFITS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EARNED INCOME

Using standard measures of income inequality and detailed pension benefit information on participants in the 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the authors investigate how pension benefits affected the distribution of earned income. The results suggest that private pensions increased annual income inequality (relative to inequality observed in the distribution of wage income) by only about 2% among all employed individuals, but by 21% among unionized workers. Further analysis indicates that private pensions raised annual income inequality primarily by increasing the rate of return to tenure, possibly through pension “backloading” (setting accruals to grow when earnings rise near retirement) and the increasing incidence of pensions with age. Private pensions had little effect on estimates of the distribution of expected lifetime income, but the addition to the analysis of social security benefits (public pensions) strongly reduced inequality in that distribution.

The Price of Morals: An Empirical Investigation of Industry Sectors and Perceptions of Moral Satisfaction—Do Business Economists Pay for Morally Satisfying Employment?

Many factors contribute to choice of employment other than compensation. This study extends the current literature by testing whether a compensating differential exists in employment sectors deemed morally satisfying. Data from the 1998 salary survey of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and sector rankings addressing moral satisfaction provided by a sample of college students are used in a regression analysis. When we include a self-selection correction in the salary regression, business economists in the for-profit sector earned almost 150 percent more than their nonprofit counterparts, once controlling for the choice of employment sector and human capital variables. Average wages were economically and statistically higher for business economists situated in the middle and low moral satisfaction groupings compared to those in the high moral satisfaction sector. Results suggest a compensating differential for those employed in morally satisfying industry sectors.

What Influence Does Mathematics Preparation Have on Performance in First Economics Classes

Using data from a Midwestern university, the authors examine whether math preparation, as measured by the level of math preparation entrance exam for freshmen students and subsequent score on the exam, are associated with performance in ones first economics course. The results indicate that the type of exam is related to the grade received in economics, and that higher level math preparation from high school leads to higher probabilities of receiving As and Bs in the economics courses. The score on the preparation exam, however, does not have any relationship with the economics grade. When a control for college calculus or trigonometry was added to the model, the related coefficient was also statistically significant, but when grades in math classes were added, the coefficients on the calculus/trig course and the grades were not significant. The authors conclude that mathematical maturity may be the relevant causal factor in ones first economic course performance.

Regional earnings differences in estonia: The influence of demographic characteristics

Recent events indicate that the Republic of Estonia is on the fast track for catching up with its Western European neighbors. However, the countrys successful performance has not translated to improved economic conditions for all regions of Estonia. This paper examines the nature of this regional diversity as it relates to the labor market. A statistical analysis indicates that age, educational, and nationality distributions vary across regions, causing earnings to vary as well. Policy initiatives to change the nature of these distributions, either through migration or educational incentives in regions with low earnings, or social policy changes to enhance the well-being of those living in the low-earnings regions, may provide more opportunity for those left behind in the transition process.

Not All Education Is Created Equal: How Choice of Academic Major Affects the Racial Salary Gap:

Using 48,403 observations from the National Survey of College Graduates, this article examines the racial salary disparity between Black and White college graduates. We find that academic major and first higher education institution influence one’s final occupation, which in turn affects the salary disparity between Blacks and Whites. We suggest that public policy builds awareness among high school students aspiring for college of the importance of preparing for specific academic majors that lead to occupations expected to maintain an earnings premium.

Two Heads are Better than One, and Three is a Magic Number in Economics

This chapter in the volume illustrates how Benedict’s own trajectory of collaboration began in a doctoral program and blossomed in an academic environment. For Benedict, collaboration encompassed a wide spectrum of associations: colleagues, students, friends, and her husband. She makes the point that criticism among closely related collaborators, while often reserved, can be successful.