Tin-Chun Lin

Education, technical progress, and economic growth: the case of Taiwan

Abstract This paper investigates the effect of education and the role of technical progress on economic growth in Taiwan over the 1965–2000 period. A structural earnings function and indicator for average schooling years are applied to a measure of education, and a transcendental production function is used in the model. Findings reveal that education has a positive and significant effect on growth, but the role of technical progress does not appear to be extraordinarily important. According to the complementarity test, no markedly significant relationships exist between capital and education, or between education and technical progress. [ JEL classification : O40, J24, I20]

Using the Crossword Puzzle Exercise in Introductory Microeconomics to Accelerate Business Student Learning

The authors propose using crossword puzzles for the purpose of assisting business students in their efforts to learn economics. The exercise provides students with a lively, creative, and challenging learning method. The authors developed an experiment to test whether the use of a crossword puzzle exercise would accelerate business student learning of basic economics vocabulary and terminology in undergraduate classes. The findings revealed that working crossword puzzles can help students build and maintain an introductory microeconomics vocabulary. Test results show that crossword puzzles do in fact aid student learning of microeconomics terms and do improve their grades on quizzes.

The impact of local taxes on public school performance: the case of Pennsylvania

This study investigates how education inputs impact school performance. The focus is on local taxes since local tax revenues are the primary source of financing public schools. Using both OLS and 2SLS and examining 507 school districts in Pennsylvania during 1996 to 1999, results reveal that local taxes are strongly related to school performance implying that they have a direct effect on education inputs.

Teacher salaries and student achievement: the case of Pennsylvania

In this article, we developed an empirical model and tested the hypothesis that teacher salaries and student achievement are positively and significantly related. A total of 500 school districts in the state of Pennsylvania for 3 school years (1999–2000, 2000–2001 and 2001–2002) were selected for a case study. Consequently, the empirical evidence revealed that the hypothesis was accepted, implying that higher teacher salaries attract better qualified teachers and thus benefits student learning and improves student achievement.

Does Missing Classes Decelerate Student Exam Performance Progress? Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications

A total of 389 business students in undergraduate introductory microeconomics classes in spring 2007, 2009, and 2011, and fall 2012 participated in an exam performance progress study. Empirical evidence suggested that missing classes decelerates and hampers high-performing students’ exam performance progress. Nevertheless, the evidence does not indicate that gender is a factor in determining whether missing classes impedes students’ exam performance progress. Moreover, policy implications are discussed. For faculty, a mandatory attendance policy, daily motivational quiz, and incentive-stimulating attendance strategy are suggested. For school authorities, increasing campus employment opportunities is suggested. For the government, the author suggests that Congress should annually restore the purchasing power of federal grants by increasing the maximum grant awards and lowering federal student loan rates to half of present rates, but restrictions should be added on grant recipients to ensure that better attendance behaviors are achieved.

The Determinants of Parental Choice of Education: The Case of Pennsylvania

1. Since outstanding economic research is awarded with the Nobel Prize nowadays, economics may be regarded as emancipated among the sciences after achieving the status of a mature science too. On the other hand there is increasing uneasiness about the direction of research and the applicability of the results reached within the traditional framework. The reasons for this critical attitude may be found in the changes of the social and political climate all over the world as well as the pressing desire for solutions to problems which cannot be answered within the usual economic theory. But it would be wrong to think that there are only political motives for being unsatisfied with the state of economic science

Using classroom game play in introductory microeconomics to enhance business student learning and lecture attendance

Abstract The author examined whether game play improves students’ comprehension, attendance, and exam performance. The author designed three games; 120 students in introductory microeconomics classes participated in these experiments. The evidence showed that game play enhances students’ attendance, comprehension, and exam performance. It also showed that attendance and exam performance are positively correlated, implying that game play enhances students’ exam performance due to improved attendance. While game play is a fun, lively, and creative way to teach economics and improve students’ attendance, comprehension, and exam performance, in light of higher costs, instructors should decide whether the benefits of conducting game play outweigh the costs of using this method.

The impact of federal, state and local taxes on student achievement in public schools: the case of Indiana

In this article, data from 286 Indiana school districts during the 2009–2010 school year were used in a case study to investigate whether fiscal funding has a direct effect on education output (i.e. student achievement). Two results were found: (1) while federal taxes are not significantly associated with student achievement in public schools, both state and local taxes are strongly related to student achievement in public schools, implying a direct effect on education output; and (2) state tax funding has a greater impact on education output than local tax funding.

Absenteeism and Exam Performance: Evidence for Introductory Microeconomics

The effect of absenteeism on students’ exam performance during an introductory microeconomics course was examined. The focus was on the impact of absenteeism in the prior exam period on current exam performance. Results showed a negative and significant correlation – one additional class missed was found to lower test scores by approximately 2-3 points and reduce exam performance by approximately 3-6%. One additional class missed in the first and second exam periods was found to lower final exam scores by approximately 4 and 2 points, and reduce final exam performance by approximately 6.5% and 3.4%, respectively. Moreover, the cumulative absenteeism effect was found to be significant on final comprehensive exam performance while not significant on second midterm exam performance. In addition, the post-exam effect was tested and found not to be significant. An implied issue was discussed – attendance be compulsory? Findings suggest that an incentive-stimulating attendance strategy may be considered as a substitute for a mandatory attendance policy.