Prior research substantially overstates the cost of retention under test-based promotion policies to both taxpayers and students who delay labor market entry because it omits two important factors. First, there is a delay between the intervention and the taxpayer's expenditure. Second, on average, the treatment leads to less than a full year of…

The most significant investment California made in the 1960s was the creation of, arguably, the best public higher education system in the world. The 1965 Master Plan for Higher Education created a three-tiered system of higher education that provided a place in college for any Californian seeking the opportunity. From research universities to…

Using a survey of a cohort of UK graduates, linked to administrative data on higher education participation, this paper investigates the labour market attainment of recent graduates by subject of study. We document a large heterogeneity in the mean wages of graduates from different subjects and a considerably larger one within subject with…

We analyze the returns to education in a life-cycle framework that incorporates risk preferences, earnings volatility (including unemployment), and a progressive income tax and social insurance system. We show that such a framework significantly reduces the measured gains from education relative to simple present-value calculations, although the…

Given the importance of a college education to entering and staying in the middle class and the high cost of obtaining a bachelor's degree, "Who Wins? and Who Pays?" are questions being asked today at kitchen tables and in the halls of government throughout the nation. Using publicly available data, the authors look at who wins and who pays…

This dissertation consists of three essays on education and macroeconomics. The first chapter analyzes whether public education financing systems can account for large differences among developed countries in earnings inequality and intergenerational earnings persistence. I first document facts about public education in the U.S. and Norway, which…

This study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Georgia, and examines how policies that increase school choice, such as the recently-enacted tuition tax credit scholarship program will provide large public benefits by increasing public school graduation rates. The study calculates the annual cost of Georgia dropouts caused by…

This study provides estimates of the private Internal Rates of Return (IRR) to tertiary education for women and men in 21 OECD countries, for the years between 1991 and 2005. IRR are computed by estimating labour market premia on cross-country comparable individual-level data. Labour market premia are then adjusted for fiscal factors and education…

This chapter is a draft of Chapter 7 of a planned book, "Preschool and Jobs: Human Development as Economic Development, and Vice Versa." This book analyzes early childhood programs' effects on regional economic development. Four early childhood programs are considered: (1) universally accessible preschool for four-year-olds of similar…

This paper is a draft of Chapter 8 of a planned book, "Preschool and Jobs: Human Development as Economic Development, and Vice Versa". This book analyzes early childhood programs' effects on regional economic development. Four early childhood programs are considered: (1) universally accessible preschool for four-year-olds of similar…

This document presents the a 2-volume study and executive summary of the overall economic impacts generated by the Oregon Community College (OCC) system on 17 community colleges in Oregon. Volume 1, or the main report, indicates the OCC system employed 5,945 full- and 8,118 part-time faculty and staff in 2001, amounting to an annual payroll of…

A 1988 study that examined the economic performance of 22,091 graduates in 1984 of 14 vocational programs in Ohio used federal income tax records. Twelve of the programs with 20,557 graduates were at the secondary level, and 2 with 1,534 graduates were at the associate level. The incomes of vocational graduates were compared to income of…

The sixth annual study of the economic performance of 15,055 graduates in 1979 of 14 vocational programs in Ohio used federal income tax records. Twelve of the programs with 13,109 graduates were secondary vocational programs. A total of 1,946 students graduated from 2 associate programs. The income of completers of vocational programs was…

A 1987 study that examined the economic performance of 23,500 graduates in 1983 of 14 vocational programs in Ohio used federal income tax records. Twelve of the programs with 21,857 graduates were at the secondary level, and 2 with 1,643 graduates were at the associate level. The incomes of vocational graduates were compared to income of…

This document contains the text of testimony presented at a congressional hearing examining education's role in economic competitiveness. Senator James M. Jefford's opening statement is followed by testimony given by representatives of the following agencies and organizations: TRW, Inc., Circuit City Stores, Inc., McGraw-Hill, Inc., Drew…