W. Lee Hansen

Exploring the Effects of Ability to Pay on Persistence in College.

This study examines the effects of economic and noneconomic variables on college persistence, building both on economic theory and Tinto’s Student Integration Model. The authors tested their predictive research design’s hypotheses by means of logistic regression models with a national sample of 1,375 college students attending public four-year institutions. Findings indicate that financial variables moderate the effect of goal commitment on persistence. They explore implications both for theory and for student financial aid policy.

The Status and Prospects of the Economics Major

The objects, methods of instruction, content, and accomplishments of the undergraduate major in economics at institutions of higher education within the United States are discussed. Recommendations are provided for teaching students to “think like economists.”

The Distribution of Costs and Direct Benefits of Public Higher Education: The Case of California

This paper explores the general nature of income redistribution effects of the financing of public higher education in California. The amount of available subsidy (full cost less student charges) varies dramatically among the three higher education systems-University, State College, and Junior College. Since eligibility for the higher-subsidy institutions is positively related to family income level, and since actual attendance among those eligible increases as family income rises, the result is that the distribution of subsidies actually favors upper income families. These subsidies are then compared with total state and local taxes paid. The results show that families with children enrolled in public higher education receive positive net transfers (subsidy less taxes paid) and that these net transfers are an increasing fraction of average family money income.

Total and Private Rates of Return to Investment in Schooling

-y W9HE costs of schooling and the money returns resulting from investment in schooling are currently receiving more and more attention by economists, not only because of their possible implications for economic growth, but also because they may help individuals to determine how much they should invest in the development of their own human capital. This note provides some further evidence on these two topics; it presents estimates of internal rates of return based on both total and private resource costs for various amounts of schooling, from elementary school through college. The fragmentary treatment of both the costs of schooling and the money returns to schooling found in much of the recent literature provided the stimulus for preparing these internal rate-of-return estimates. For example, Miller calculates life-time income values by level of schooling,2 Houthakker estimates, on the basis of alternative discount rates, the present value of income streams associated with different levels of schooling,3 Schultz provides estimates of total resource costs of education by broad level of schooling,4 and Becker and Schultz calculate for several levels of education the expected rates of return, sometimes on a total resource cost basis and at other times on a private resource cost basis.5 Given this diversity of treatment, it is difficult to obtain an over-all picture of the relationship among rates of return to different amounts of schooling or to see the nature of the differences between the rates of return as viewed by society and those viewed by individuals. Moreover, the relationship among the various methods of contrasting the economic gains from education-the lifetime income, the present value, and the rate of return comparisons-has been obscured. It becomes important to understand what some of these relationships are when society and individuals allocate such a large portion of their resources to schooling. At the societal level, for example, we might be interested in determining whether to allocate more funds to reduce the number of dropouts from high school or to stimulate an increased flow

Impact of Student Financial Aid on Access

The battle over the federal governments spending levels and its policy toward student financial aid reflects an unstable but fundamental disagreement over the effectiveness of these programs. Appeals to evidence on effectiveness have been absent from the sharp political debate over budget cuts between the Reagan administration and the higher-education community. The administration justified the cuts as part of a program to contain federal spending. Representatives for higher education countered with predictions that the cutbacks would reduce enrollments of financially disadvantaged students, weaken the demand for faculty members, and jeopardize the financial condition of a number of colleges and universities. Neither side paid much attention to whether the student-aid programs had been successful. The most obvious appeal might have been made to the record of these programs, which include outright grants, subsidized loans, and work-study grants. Their purpose is to give students with demonstrated financial need greater access to college, a wider choice among institutions, and a better chance of fin

Expected Proficiencies for Undergraduate Economics Majors

Abstract The case for adopting a proficiencies approach to instruction and learning in the economics major is reiterated. This approach focuses on what graduating majors should be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire in the major, that is, their ability to demonstrate their learning in practical ways. The authors list of five proficiencies, advanced in the mid-1980s, is reviewed and revised; one additional proficiency is added and several others are refined. The author discusses the emphasis given to these proficiencies with top economics undergraduates at two major research universities, the authors experience with incorporating these proficiencies into his instruction, and the challenge of assessing the ability of economics majors to demonstrate these proficiencies.

Economics of the Military Draft

I. The conceptual framework, 396. — II. The model, 402. — III. Empirical application, 406. — IV. Some extensions of the analysis, 411. — V. Conclusion, 421.

Graduate training and the early career productivity of Ph.D. economists

Abstract This paper estimates the relationships among the attributes of graduate economics programs and the occupational choices and publishing proficiency of recent Ph.D.s. The estimates indicate that research experience in graduate school (e.g. working as a research assistant, submitting and publishing articles) is positively associated with subsequent publishing proficiency. Other variables included in the analysis include graduate school ranking, graduate school faculty size and its publishing proficiency, and individual demographic characteristics and academic experiences.

America and the new economy : how new competitive standards are radically changing American workplaces

Part 1 The new competitive reality: discovering the new market standards six standards of success - how America measures up dynamics of technical change and the new economic cycle. Part 2 People and organizations in the new economy: new structures that link organizations, industries, and markets competitive prospects in critical industries. Part 3 Job and skill demands in the new economy: the changing quantity, distribution, and quality of jobs the increasing need for complex and wide-ranging job skills sixteen job skills crucial to success. Part 4 Strategies for competitive success: organizational strategies for meeting the new competitive standards continuous learning - the cornerstone of economic progress. Conclusion: challenges facing America in the new economy.

Total Quality Improvement in the Classroom

Abstract This paper is a case study of the application of total quality improvement (TQI) to an undergraduate economics course to promote learning outcomes. Though there is world‐wide discourse on quality in higher education, infusing TQI into instruction has received little attention. Most of the quality movement in higher education focuses on improving management. The challenge for a lecturer is to use TQI to help students develop their potential. TQI in teaching has three major principles: 1. customer focus, represented by the learning outcomes (competences); 2. student involvement, represented by team research projects to create knowledge; and 3. continuous improvement, represented by evaluations of the course and teaching carried out by a student team. While some attention goes to the team activities, we concentrate on the development of multiple evaluations to assess the effectiveness of the exercise. The evaluations indicate strong student satisfaction with the TQI‐orientation of the course, with s...