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RAO explores the relationship of caste to mental disorders as revealed by mental hospital admissions. The ten major castes of Bihar were studied. PFLANZ and LAMBELET compare the frequency of so-called 'diseases of civilisation' (psycho somatic disorders) between India and Germany. Their field research in India was carried out in a tradition-oriented rural area of Maharashtra State. According to HOCH, bronchial asthma holds the first place among psycho somatic conditions in Indian psychiatric patients and their relatives. The psychodynamics of this disorder in relation to socio-cultural factors are discussed by the author. SPIRO suggests that belief in witchraft is a culturally constituted defense mechanism which contributes to Burmese mental health. But it also has dysfunctional consequences, contributing to the Burmese suspicious attitudes toward, and wariness of, their fellows. WEIDMAN, from her anthropological investigations in Burma, arrives at a reformulation of the shame and guilt problem. Little is known about psychiatric problems in Nepal. SHARMA reports on some of his observations.

The paper examines whether meeting performance targets in tests at school has an effect on students' subsequent achievement in education and the take-up by schools of financial support from the government for students. We build a theoretical model to describe the channels through which students' belief of their ability, as proxied by previous performance in tests, affect their current effort in preparing for a test, and how previous performance affects the effort in teaching by a school. We find that an increase in the performance target in the first test has an ambiguous effect on the effort exerted for the second test. A higher performance target in the current test increases the effort of low-ability students and teaching effort for low ability students, while it has an ambiguous effect on high ability ones. Finally, an increase in government funding per student increases the effort by students.

Das deutsche Bildungßsystem steht unter enormem Veränderungsdruck. Um die Schulen auf die Zukunft vorzubereiten und große Investitionsprogramme zu ermöglichen, haben Bund und Länder beschlossen, das Grundgesetz zu ändern. Dazu gehört auch die Öffnung von Artikel 104c. Der Bund wird künftig berechtigt sein, umfangreich in die lokale Bildungsinfrastruktur bzw. in Schulen zu investieren. Bislang waren solche Finanzhilfen stark eingeschränkt. Dies hat eine grundlegende Debatte über den Föderalismus in Deutschland und das Einflussverhältnis zwischen Bund und Ländern ausgelöst. Die Analyse der legislativen Änderung von Artikel 104c nach finanzwissenschaftlichen Kriterien zeigt, dass die politische Entscheidung kritisch bewertet werden muss. ; The German education system is under enormous pressure to change. In order to prepare the schools for the future and to enable large investment programmes, the federal ('Bund') and state ('Länder') governments have decided to amend the German constitution. This includes the opening of Article 104c. In the future, the 'Bund' will be authorised to invest extensively in local education infrastructure in schools. Until now, such grants were severely limited. A fundamental debate has arisen about federalism in Germany and the balance of influence between 'Bund' and 'Länder' governments. The present article analyses the legislative change of Article 104c on the basis of public finance criteria. A political decision must be critically assessed on the basis of these criteria.

Die unbefriedigenden Zustände im Bildungswesen haben viel mit der föderalen Struktur des Landes zu tun. Grundsätzlich ist die Bildung Ländersache, aber in der Landespolitik haben die bundesgesetzlich definierten Aufgaben nach Art. 83 GG Priorität vor denen, für die die Länder selbst zuständig sind. Verschärft wird das Problem durch die Schuldenbremse, die den Ländern finanzielle Spielräume zur eigenständigen Politikgestaltung nimmt. Im Bereich der Hochschulen kommt hinzu, dass das Bereitstellen von Studienplätzen für viele Länder ein Verlustgeschäft darstellt, und es weitaus attraktiver ist, Absolventen aus anderen Ländern abzuwerben als selbst in Hochschulen zu investieren. ; The misery of education is related to the federal order. The German Länder as the weaker level of government are primarily responsible for education. Since they are constitutionally obliged to execute federal law, this obligation enjoys supremacy ove r the autonomous tasks of the Länder. When money is short, the Länder can cut expenditure in the field of their legislation only, not in the execution of federal law. That makes the expenditure on education vulnerable. Additionally, it is not very attractive for the Länder to i nvest in higher education. It is much cheaper to recruit university alumni from other Länder than to pay for their university education.

Die Niedrigzinspolitik der EZB steht bei vielen deshalb in der Kritik, weil Sparer kaum Erträge durch ihre Anlagen erwirtschaften können. Tatsächlich bezieht sich diese Beobachtung aber vor allem auf die Entwicklung des nominalen Zinsatzes. Real ist die Gesamtrendite privater Haushalte in Deutschland derzeit nicht auf ihrem niedrigsten Stand. Allerdings sind die Portfolios privater Anleger in Deutschland wenig renditeorientiert. Die Autoren sind der Auffassung, dass die Politik hier ansetzen und weniger die direkte Subventionierung des Sparens in den Blick nehmen sollte. ; Critics of the low interest rate environment claim that German households have had difficult times generating positive returns from their savings since interest rates reached levels around zero. Therefore, direct public support is increasingly being called for. This article shows that, from a macroeconomic perspective, households have in fact generated positive real returns to date. However, portfolio returns may vary among households due to differences in portfolio structure and size. In addition, aggregate portfolio returns might decrease in the years to come if nominal interest rates remain low. Regarding policy responses, it is therefore proposed to undertake measures which increase total factor productivity and improve the financial literacy of households. Both approaches promise to be more effective than direct public support of savings.

Seit 2007 finanzieren Bund und Länder im Hochschulpakt Studienanfänger, die gegenüber dem Basisjahr 2005 zusätzlich an die Hochschulen kommen, gemeinsam. In die Berechnungen werden alle Anfänger an den Privathochschulen einbezogen, Geld gibt es aber nur in wenigen Ausnahmefällen. Im Qualitätspakt Lehre, der wettbewerblich organisierten dritten Förderlinie des Hochschulpaktes, sind die privaten Hochschulen darüber hinaus nicht teilnahmeberechtigt. Die für die Ausbildungsleistungen der privaten Hochschulen miteinberechneten Bundesmittel verbleiben überwiegend in den jeweiligen Hochschulbudgets der Länder. Diese konnten nicht zuletzt dadurch ihre Grundmittel seit Beginn des Hochschulpaktes bis 2013 um rund 29 Prozent steigern. Allein für das Jahr 2013 können die den privaten Hochschulen entgangenen Bundesmittel aus dem Hochschulpakt auf rund 197 Millionen Euro geschätzt werden. Mit dieser Summe haben die privaten Hochschulen im Jahr 2013 somit die Hochschulen in öffentlicher Trägerschaft quasi subventioniert. Gleichzeitig wird von den privaten Hochschulen in den staatlichen Anerkennungsverfahren und bei der Akkreditierung durch den Wissenschaftsrat eine kontinuierliche Ausbildungsleistung sowie ein stärkeres Engagement in der Forschung verlangt. Beides erfordert eine stabile finanzielle Basis, die in der gegenwärtigen Finanzierungsstruktur der privaten Hochschulen durch die überwiegende Abhängigkeit von Studiengebühren nicht immer gegeben ist. Eine monetäre Berücksichtigung der Ausbildungsleistungen der privaten Hochschulen bei der Vergabe der Hochschulpaktmittel wäre daher ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung. Auch aus ordnungspolitischer und verfassungsrechtlicher Sicht lässt sich eine stärkere staatliche Mitfinanzierung der privaten Hochschulen begründen.

We estimate effects of the Pell Grant - the largest U.S. federal grant for college students - using administrative data from Texas public colleges and a discontinuity in grant generosity for low-income students. Within four-year institutions, eligibility for additional grant aid significantly increases first-time students' degree completion and later earnings. Our estimated impacts on earnings alone are enough to fully recoup government expenditures within 10 years, suggesting that financial aid likely pays for itself several times over.

Deutschland investiert zu wenig in Bildung-darüber sind sich Wissenschaft und Medien einig. Dass diese Investitionen überwiegend öffentlich finanziert werden müssen, wird nicht bezweifelt. Die Frage ist aber, ob es mit den in der Vergangenheit getätigten Bildungsinvestitionen gelungen ist, soziale Ungleichheiten zu mildern. Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass die deutsche Bildungspolitik insbesondere bei der Verbesserung der sozialen Durchlässigkeit Defizite aufweist. Vor allem im vorschulischen Bereich sollten zusätzliche Finanzmittel eingesetzt werden, aber auch die regionale Verteilung ist zu beachten. Zudem sind Bildungsinvestitionen für die bessere Integration von Flüchtlingen in den Arbeitsmarkt erforderlich. ; Despite the educational expansion since the 1960s and the rise of the average education level, there has been no significant decrease in education inequality or in its persistence across generations during the past decades in Germany. This depressing realisation is not held by all authors; some others identify positive developments in education. The explanation for underinvestment in people is that these investments generate only long-run returns. In order to reduce social inequalities, further investments in education are necessary. These investments should be target oriented and focus on reducing inequalities in the use of early education and care institutions, as well as on increasing the quality of these institutions. Individuals with lower education levels should be especially targeted to participate in further training, because higher formal qualifications will both insulate them from labour market risks and generate a more favourable social environment for their children. Furthermore, there should be more investments into education at the regional level. Large imbalances in regional participation in further education and training highlight the lack of local universities to act as a local push factor. Fast internet access in rural areas and 'freeing' time resources through sabbaticals could improve participation in lifelong learning.

Am 9. Dezember 2010 beschloss das britische Unterhaus, die bisherige Obergrenze der Studiengebühren, die die Universitäten in England und Wales pro Jahr erheben dürfen, anzuheben. Seit der Einführung der Gebühren im Jahr 1998 stieg damit der Betrag auf das Neunfache des ursprünglichen Wertes. Der Beitrag gibt einen detaillierten Überblick über das Konzept der britischen Regierung zu den Studiengebühren und zeigt die entsprechenden Bestimmungen in anderen europäischen Ländern auf.

We estimate the effect of grant aid on poor college students' attainment and earnings using student-level administrative data from four-year public colleges in Texas. To identify these effects, we exploit a discontinuity in grant generosity as a function of family income. Eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant significantly increases degree receipt and earnings beginning four years after entry. Within 10 years, imputed taxes on eligible students' earnings gains fully recoup total government expenditures generated by initial eligibility. To clarify how these estimates relate to social welfare, we develop a general theoretical model and derive sufficient statistics for the welfare implications of changes in the price of college. Whether additional grant aid increases welfare depends on (1) net externalities from recipients' behavioral responses and (2) a direct effect of mitigating credit constraints or other frictions that inflate students' in-school marginal utility. Calibrating our model using nationally representative consumption data suggests that increasing grant aid for the average college student by $1 could generate negative externalities as high as $0.50 and still improve welfare. Applying our welfare formula and estimated direct effects to our setting and others suggests considerable welfare gains from grants that target low-income students.

Government student loan programs must balance the need to enforce repayment among borrowers who can afford to make their payments with some form of forgiveness or repayment assistance for those who cannot. Using unique survey and administrative data from the Canada Student Loan Program, we show that nearly all recent borrowers with annual incomes above $40,000 make their standard loan payments while repayment problems are common among borrowers earning less than $20,000. Still, over half of all low-income borrowers manage to make timely payments. We demonstrate that other financial resources in the form of savings and family support are key to understanding this - repayment problems are rare among low-earners with access to savings and family support. This has important policy implications, in part, because many recent proposals have advocated for a move to an income-based repayment system. Under such a system, many low-income borrowers in good-standing (due primarily to savings and family support) would pay less, while little new revenue would likely be generated from inducing payment among those that are currently delinquent or in default since their income levels are so low. Specifically, we show that expanding Canada's income-based Repayment Assistance Plan to automatically cover all borrowers could reduce revenue by nearly one-half over the first few years of repayment. Although a sizeable group of recent borrowers would benefit from improved repayment assistance, our results suggest caution before broadly expanding assistance to all low-income borrowers, many of whom already benefit from informal insurance provided by savings and their families.

Studies continue to indicate that higher education is frequently a worthwhile investment for individuals and that it raises the productivity of the workforce as a whole. While the rising cost of post-secondary education has not eliminated this "college premium", it has raised new questions about how growing numbers of students can make these investments. One solution to this problem is student loans, which have come to play an increasingly important role in financing higher education. Yet, despite its importance, educational debt is not well understood. Among the reasons is that there exist few central repositories of information on the characteristics and performance of all student loans, which currently include loans made by both government and private lenders. In this paper, we bring a new data set to bear on this important issue and present a brief analysis of the historical and current levels of student debt and how those loans are performing. We also briefly discuss the implications of student loans for borrowers and the economy.

Inhaltsverzeichnis: Andrea Lengerer/ Julia H. Schroedter/ Tobias Hubert: Kapitel A Übersicht (A1-A19); Andrea Lengerer: Kapitel B Methodische Variablen (B1-B34); Andrea Lengerer: Kapitel C Standardvariablen (C1-C28); Tobias Hubert: Kapitel D Regionalangaben (D1-D15); Tobias Hubert: Kapitel E Erwerbstätigkeit (E1-E48); Julia H. Schroedter/ Tobias Hubert: Kapitel F Bildung (F1-F42); Andrea Lengerer/ Mara Boehle: Kapitel G Einkommen (G1-G35); Julia H. Schroedter/ Andrea Lengerer: Kapitel H Haushalt und Familie (H1-H40); Julia H. Schroedter: Kapitel I Nationalität und Migration (I1-I22).

La educación financiera es un factor importante en la vida de cualquier persona, el consumo, el ahorro, la inversión y otros conceptos básicos de las finanzas son desconocidos por gran parte de la población en el mundo, el presente artículo identifica ciertas actitudes frente a ello y propone de manera básica pilares fundamentales de la educación financiera que podrían ser implementados en la educación secundaria, considerando que esta debería ser implementada como materia curricular en la educación. Clasificación JEL: G00, I21, I22.

This paper studies the effects of a government scholarship program for low-income college students in Brazil, the Prouni. In order to deal with selection effects, I use propensity score matching based on observable student characteristics and a proxy for previous student performance. The results are robust across different specifications, and suggest that students who received a scholarship perform better than comparable students and take less time to reach the final year of college. These effects are higher for students with full scholarships than for students with partial scholarships, and seem to be partially driven by a decrease in the proportion of students who work and an increase in time spent studying.