Attacks two assumptions: (1) that schooling raises the level of cognitive development of students, and (2) that this increase explains the relationship between schooling and earnings. (Author/LR)

Using Project Talent and census data, estimates are made with a recursive model to explain scores on standardized tests, school continuation behavior, and lifetime income. Exogenous variables include socioeconomic backgrounds of students and their classmates, school spending, race, and region. The results suggest that: (1) school spending has its…

A review of the state of the art of educational economics considers recent seemingly conflicting or disparate forms of economic analysis such as human capital theory, the study of education and economic growth, distribution of income, internal system efficiency, and education's effects on crime, savings, and consumption. (MSE)

Analyzes the relationship between years of schooling and income distribution, based on human capital theory. (Available from North-Holland Publishing Company, P.O. Box 211, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; $13.50 annually, plus $4.00 postage and handling) (JG)

States that despite spending massive amounts of money to expand their educational systems, poor countries have witnessed a 4-decade decline in their medium economic growth rates from 3 percent in the 1960s to zero percent in the 1990s. Offers several reasons for the decline, such as variations in the quality of education and low labor…

The theory of human capital has made a significant impact on the practice of modern labor economics. At a broad and general level, the concept of human capital has obvious appeal for its simplicity, analytical power, and relationship to economic theory. The fundamental problem in labor economics is the determination of wage rates and earnings;…

The paper attempts measurement of the long-run effects of increased school spending. School expenditures are found to influence how many years of schooling an individual eventually receives, and the chief effect of spending differences on lifetime income is found to work through this school continuation link. (Author)

This paper sketches some highlights of research in the economics of education since 1960. (CD)

This article updates evidence on the returns to investment in education by adding estimates for new countries and refining existing estimates to bring the total number of country cases to over 60. Evidence reinforces earlier patterns, namely, that returns are highest for primary education, the general curricula, the education of women, and…

Provides a review of research on the contribution of education to the organization and productivity of a nation's resources. Focuses on what is known about the particular contribution of higher education to U.S. economic growth. Discusses the relationship between earnings and additional schooling. Concludes that increased education probably has…

A series of multiple linear regressions analyses was used to investigate the relationship between educational stock and economic output. The gross state product (GSP) per capita was used as the dependent variable. Used as independent variables were percentages of: (1) state residents with a high school diploma and above; (2) state residents with…

Using a Virginia study as a model, this study assessed the effect on Washington state's economy of its 27 campus community college system. The study was based on a simple circular cash-flow model for the years 1969-1976 and measured economic impact in three areas: on the level of business volume done in-state, on employment, and on total state…

Reducing the dropout rate of Mississippi's public education system from its national high of 42 percent of all students in any potential graduating class to the national average of 10 percent of the class cohort would result in substantial economic benefits to the state far outweighing the related costs, according to this analysis of relevant…

In the light of the current debate over liberal arts education v vocational training, the author compares the rates of return of a college education and a technical or occupational education and discusses the advantages of a college degree for adult students. (SK)

An analysis of the economic returns of education in Australia finds a rising need for education at a time of diminishing apparent returns. It is proposed that the notions of credentialism and education as a positional good provide a better explanation for this phenomenon than does the human capital approach. (MSE)