As a result of massification of higher education and the quest for competitiveness, the Taiwanese government has adopted a series of higher education reforms since the late 1990s. While the low birthrate has become a potential threat, recent developments in higher education policies such as the Program for Developing First-Class Universities and…

In this piece, Jean Anyon argues that the definition of education policy should be expanded to include the consideration of economic policies. She asserts that the impact of economic policies, such as minimum wage laws, have large and often ignored impacts on the experiences of urban students. Anyon argues that even small annual salary…

Discusses why today's American workforce is experiencing falling wages and suggests that the answer to reversing this trend lies in improving the American education system to world class levels. Suggests the need to develop a postsecondary training system for those who do not go on to college, and highlights ways this might be implemented. (GR)

Improving compensation in early care and education (ECE) has been and will continue to be an extremely difficult policy issue. The Mailman Family Foundation and the Foundation for Child Development convened a group of 18 representatives of diverse disciplines concerned about child- and elder-care compensation. This report details the issues…

Argues that failure to improve the quality of public education since publication of "A Nation at Risk" has cost the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars in unrealized growth. Asserts that policymakers must look beyond the largely ineffective efforts to improve school quality by increasing expenditures and reducing class size.…

The new Australian Higher Education Contribution Scheme allows students to either pay a standard tuition charge on enrollment or defer payment until they are earning at least the current average taxable income. At that point, they incur a debt to the government for the amount deferred and repayment rate is based on income. Conceptual bases and…

The purpose of this report is to summarize what is known about performance-based pay for teachers in a form useful to state educational policymakers. Section 1 reviews the experience of local education agencies with various forms of merit pay, contending that experience with and evaluations of these merit plans serve as "natural experiments" that…

Studies indicate these potential sources of wage differentials between women and men: women have different skills and qualifications; they work in the same jobs and establishments and have equal qualifications but receive unequal pay; and they work in different jobs or establishments, where pay is low, but have qualifications similar to men…

This report presents the results of a study of higher education in California, focusing on the impending fiscal crisis of increasing demand, tuition, and costs. The study found that at a time when the educational needs for productive employment are increasing, college costs and demand are rising faster than funding. Until now, institutions have…

With a national goal announced as "ending welfare as we know it," it is necessary to discuss questions regarding targeting, sanctions and incentives, service delivery, and success criteria for adult literacy programs that attempt to train low-literate adults for jobs. At present, there are about 14-15 million recipients of Aid to Families with…

Adam Smith's discussion of the payment modes of teachers and resulting consequences for the quality of teaching and process of curricular innovation are reviewed through the conceptual lens of modern agency theory. Smith's analysis of higher education in his day (eighteenth century) sheds light on faculty incentive and assessment problems that…

This report presents the results of a 2-year study of the fiscal condition of higher education in the United States. The study found that at a time when the level of education needed for productive employment is increasing, college costs and demand are rising much faster than funding. Unless sweeping changes are made to control costs, millions of…

This book presents an assessment of collective bargaining in education. During the 1970's, while student enrollment declined, organizations representing public school teachers grew. Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers more than doubled their membership. Teacher contracts have expanded to include areas…

The central theme of the papers presented in this symposium is that the labor market for minorities and youth does not appear to function properly because of structural impediments (often caused by government regulations meant to help minorities) and that these impediments must be identified and effective remedies proposed. Following an…

Wage rates and earnings give misleading signals to public and private policymakers as to the benefits of certain kinds of education and training investments. These misleading signals result from the fact that (1) workers and employers prefer employment contracts that either do not recognize or only partially recognize differences in productivity…