Melvin V. Borland

Student academic achievement and the degree of market concentration in education

Abstract There is a considerable literature concerned with the relationship between student achievement and various explanatory variables relevant to the educational process. This paper differs from the previous literature in that it includes a measure of the degree of concentration in educational markets. To the extent that school administrators face increased competition for students and their associated subsidies, school administrators would be expected to behave more consistently with respect to the maximization of educational utility from the viewpoint of school clients. We find that increases in the degree of market concentration lead to decreases in student achievement. Policy issues are addressed.

An Investigation of the Effect of Class Size on Student Academic Achievement.

Despite the existence of a considerable and current educational literature concerned with the effect of class size on student achievement, the results of attempts to empirically identify the relationship between the variables class size and student achievement are mixed at best. These attempts have typically been hindered, however, by the existence, at least, of one of four factors: (1) the use of a student/teacher ratio as the measure of class size resulting in measurement error; (2) the estimation of a mis‐specified model resulting from the failure to control for family effects (i.e., student innate ability); (3) the general failure to take into account the endogeneity of class size with respect to student achievement; and (4) the employment of an incorrect functional form when specifying the relationship between class size and student achievement. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of class size on student achievement, unhindered by the existence of the four factors typically associated with prior attempts. The results of this reinvestigation suggest that the relationship between class size and student achievement is not only non‐linear, but non‐monotonic.

On the determination of the critical level of market concentration in education

Abstract Although there are many studies in which attempts have been made to determine the effects of market power on the various aspects of market conduct and performance, there are few that test for the existence of a critical level of concentration, and none other than this study that test for such a critical level in the market for education. For the sample and time period, the results of this study suggest that the critical Herfindahl index was 0.50. Those educational markets with an associated Herfindahl index at or above 0.5% can expect, on average, a 1.6 percentage point decrease or 3% reduction in student achievement scores. Policy issues are addressed.

An Examination of the Effect of Elementary School Size on Student Academic Achievement

Prior studies that have investigated the relationship between school size and student academic achievement have produced conflicting results. For example, some studies found a positive relationship between school size and student achievement; other studies found that the relationship is negative. Typically, however, these past studies have not accounted for the influence of student ability in their analysis of the impact of school size on student achievement. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of school size on student achievement while accounting for student ability, among other variables. The results reported in this paper suggest that school size has a nonlinear relationship with respect to student achievement. Thus, there is an optimal school size with respect to the maximization of student achievement.

Effect of Student Attendance on Performance: Comment on Lamdin

Evidence that student attendance has a positive and significant effect on student performance was reported by Lamdin (1996). Our comment suggests that Lamdins results are biased because of his failure to include measures of student innate ability and competition in the explanation of student performance. When these two variables are taken into account, student attendance is shown to be insignificant in terms of its effect on student performance. Thus, policies designed to increase student attendance may result in an inappropriate use of education resources.

Manipulable Variables of Policy Importance: The Case of Education

Within the past several years, there has emerged a growing body of empirical evidence that suggests greater market competition among schools has resulted in higher student academic achievement. Such a conclusion, however, may be viewed by some to be uncertain given the potential bias and inconsistency in the estimated coefficient on market competition that would result from a failure to recognize the endogeneity of market competition in the estimation of student achievement. This study corrects for the potential bias and inconsistency in the estimated coefficient on market competition by constructing a system of equations within which student achievement and market competition are explicitly endogenous.The results, first, suggest that researchers should indeed recognize the simultaneous relationship between student achievement and the degree of market competition in educational studies of student achievement and, second, confirm previous suggestions that policy-makers who seek to improve student academic achievement should construct policies that encourage market competition among schools.

Intra-school competition and student achievement

Within the economics of education literature, numerous studies have investigated the relationship between educational market competition and educational achievement. Educational market competition has been defined as either the availability of vouchers within a community or the number of schools or school districts within the relevant market structure. While these studies have shown that increases in inter-district competition result in increased student achievement, no studies, to our knowledge, have yet investigated the effect of intra-school competition on student achievement. Within this study, a measure of intra-school competition is developed and the findings indicate that increased intra-school competition leads to increased student achievement.

An Alternative Measure of the Degree of Inequity in Assessed Values for Individual Properties: A Theoretical Perspective

The Coefficient of Intra-Area Dispersion of assessed value/sale price ratios (COD) is frequently used as a measure of the degree of inequity in assessed values for individual properties. However, to the extent that property tax liabilities are capitalized in the sale prices of individual properties, the COD can be shown to be inconsistent as a measure of the degree of inequity with respect to (1) alternative but a priori reasonable choices for the definition of equity and (2) changes in the nominal property tax rate on assessed value. This second conclusion is valid under each choice for the definition of equity. The Measure of Intra-Area Dispersion of assessed value/market value ratios (MOD) is presented in this article as an alternative measure of the degree of inequity in assessed values. The MOD compares assessed values to hedonic market values based on attributes rather than sale prices. Depending on the choice for the definition of equity, the MOD is preferable. Unlike a distribution of assessed values consistent with the existence of equity with respect to sale price after assessment, the distribution of assessed values consistent with the existence of equity with respect to market value is unique. As such, unlike the COD, the MOD is shown to be insensitive to changes in the nominal property tax rate on assessed value. Therefore, the MOD is reliable.

Teacher-associated expenditures and student achievement

Inconsistent evidence exists within the economics of education research literature with respect to the relationship between teacher salary and student performance. This paper shows that such inconsistency of results could be attributed to simultaneous equation bias and model misspecification. Using alternative model specifications, alternative implications are suggested. Where additional relevant variables such as a measure of cognitive skills and a measure of the degree of market competition are included and where the statistical model reflects relevant theoretical considerations, evidence of a positive and significant relationship between teacher-associated expenditures and student academic achievement does not exist.

Course Presentation of the Joint-Products Problem with Costs Associated with Dumping

The typical profit-maximization solution for the joint-production problem found in intermediate texts, managerial texts, and other texts concerned with optimal pricing is oversimplified and inconsistent with profit maximization, unless there is either no excess of any of the joint products or no costs associated with dumping. However, it is an inappropriate method of solution where excess does exist and the costs of dumping are explicitly recognized and, with respect to such cases, is at least nongeneral. The authors present a more realistic alternative method of solution, although more complex, as a substitute for the textbook method of solution typically offered.