Suchergebnisse

This volume contains a collection of papers by economists which examine the various strategies for cutting costs and improving productivity in higher education in the United States. The dramatic increase in the cost of attending most colleges and universities in recent years has led to increasing concerns regarding college affordability. In addition, with nearly 35 percent of full-time college students failing to receive a bachelor`s degree within six years of enrolling in an institution of higher education, the productivity of colleges and universities has also been called into question. Systematic reform of higher education has intensified as a result of the large amount of public and private dollars flowing into it. The chapters in this volume, while recognizing it may be the primary source of the problem, also understand that the political forces behind the subsidization of higher education are unlikely to wane. The contributors examine several areas of possible reform from an economic perspective, including financial aid systems, athletics, and the organization of universities and university systems with an emphasis on identifying the types of reforms that are most likely to result in improvements as well as those that may make things worse. This volume will be of interest to economists, education researchers and policymakers concerned with education reform. TOC:The American Higher Education Problem.- Financial Aid in Theory and Practice.- Price Discrimination and Rising College Costs: Is There Any Relationship?- Cost Inflation in Intercollegiate Athletics - And Some Modest Proposals for Controlling It.- The Academics Athletics Trade-Off.- For Profit Education in the United States: A Primer.- A Market Funded College`s Approach to Student Learning and Job Placement: An Insider`s View.- The Economics of For Profit Education.- Getting it Right: Where University Systems Lose Information in Designing Programs.- Managing the Internal Organization of Colleges and Universities.- Private It: Outsourcing and Privatization in Higher Education.- Improving Higher Education Using The Principles of Market-Based Management.- A Tale of Two Partners - How Specialization and Division of Labor are Reshaping the Academy

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Contributors -- 1 Exploring Your Own Local Economy Using Adam Smith -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Lessons from Adam Smith -- 1.2.1 Critical Reading -- 1.3 Experiential and Community-Based Learning -- 1.4 Course Layout -- 1.5 Visiting Area Businesses -- 1.6 The Logistics -- 1.7 Student Learning and Evaluation -- 1.8 Conclusion -- References -- 2 Extra-Curricular Undergraduate Student Field Trips -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Basic Requirements -- 2.3 Four Examples -- 2.3.1 Late Afternoon Trip to Local Factory: Progress Rail -- 2.3.2 All Day Trip to Indianapolis -- 2.3.3 Three-Day Trip to Chicago -- 2.3.4 Spring Break Trip to New York City and AIER -- 2.4 Conclusions -- References -- 3 Economic Journeys in Alaska -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Learning Objectives -- 3.3 Logistics -- 3.4 Schedule and Assignments -- 3.5 Process and Required Materials -- 3.6 Tips -- 3.7 Conclusion -- References -- 4 Off-Campus Colloquia as Immersive Study and Active Learning: Capitaf, Milton and Rose Friedman's Home -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Benefits of Off-Campus Study -- 4.3 The Capitaf Immersive Study Program -- 4.3.1 Participation -- 4.3.2 Funding and Contacts -- 4.4 Colloquia Learning Objectives and Structures -- 4.5 Program and Discussion Structure -- 4.5.1 Days One and Two -- 4.5.2 Day Three -- 4.6 Day Four -- 4.6.1 Day Five -- 4.7 Impact on Learning -- 4.8 Conclusion -- References -- 5 Faculty Professional Development Through International Experiences -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 A Review of the Literature on the Benefits of International Teaching Experiences -- 5.3 How Teaching Abroad Enhanced My Teaching Tools and Skills -- 5.4 Develop New Perspectives on Your Teaching -- 5.5 Engage in Curriculum Development/Evaluation and Faculty Training -- 5.6 Use Social Media to Connect Communities Internationally &.

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Contributors -- 1 The Dictator's Knowledge Problem -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 The Literature: Separate Pieces of the Same Puzzle -- 1.3 The Dictator's Knowledge Problem -- 1.3.1 Who Supports and Who Opposes? -- 1.3.2 Which Means of Support? -- 1.3.3 Exogenous Factors -- 1.3.4 The Dictator-Citizen Relationship -- 1.4 Feedback Mechanisms to Resolve the Dictator's Knowledge Problem -- 1.4.1 Legislatures -- 1.4.2 Business and Professional Associations -- 1.4.3 Protests -- 1.4.4 Is One Mechanism Better than Another? -- 1.5 Conclusion -- References -- 2 The Economic Reconstruction of Iraq -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Background on the Economy and Economic Reconstruction of Iraq -- 2.2.1 Iraq's Prewar Economy -- 2.2.2 The Governing Body of Iraq's Initial Economic Reconstruction -- 2.2.3 Economic Reconstruction -- 2.3 The Traps of Economic Reconstruction in Iraq -- 2.3.1 The Credible Commitment Trap -- 2.3.2 The Political Economy Trap -- 2.3.3 The Bureaucracy Trap -- 2.3.4 The Fatal Conceit Trap -- 2.4 Conclusion: Implications for Policy -- References -- 3 Foreign Intervention and Global Public Bads -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Global Public Goods, Global Public Bads and Unintended Consequences -- 3.3 Evidence of the Negative Unintended Consequences of Foreign Intervention -- 3.3.1 Method and Case Selection -- 3.3.2 Democratic Republic of the Congo -- 3.3.3 Afghanistan and Pakistan -- 3.4 Conclusion -- References -- 4 Property Rights and Economic Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan African Countries -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 The History and the Point of Divergence in the Paths of Nations' Development -- 4.3 The Model and Data Description -- 4.3.1 Data Description -- 4.3.2 The Models -- 4.4 Results and Interpretation -- 4.5 Conclusion -- References.

Intro -- Contents -- Foreword: The Importance of Economic Freedom -- References -- Preface -- Introduction and Overview: What is Economic Freedom? -- Introduction -- The Construction of the Index -- Area 1: Size of Government -- Area 2: Legal Structure and Security -- of Property Rights -- Area 3: Access to Sound Money -- Area 4: Freedom to Trade Internationally -- Area 5: Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business -- Construction of Area and Summary Ratings -- Summary Economic Freedom Ratings, 2008 -- Conclusion -- References -- Section 1. Economic Freedom and Growth -- The Two Freedoms in a Growth Model -- Introduction -- Literature Review -- The Theoretical Model -- The Dynamic Panel Data Method -- Data And Estimation -- Conclusions -- References -- Short Run Macroeconomic Performance and Economic Freedom: Can Economic Growth Rates be Higher and More Stable? -- Introduction -- The Meaning and Measure of Economic Freedom -- Economic Freedom as a Determinant of Macroeconomic Stability -- Monetary Policy, Economic Instability, and Economic Freedom -- Adjustments to Monetary Policy, Economic Instability, and Economic Freedom -- Adjustments to Exogenous Shocks, Economic Instability, and Economic Freedom -- Summary -- Data and Methodology -- Empirical Results -- Conclusion -- Appendix: The Areas and Components of the EFW Index -- 1. Size of Government: Expenditures, Taxes, and Enterprises -- 2. Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights -- 3. Access to Sound Money -- 4. Freedom to Exchange with Foreigners -- 5. Regulation of Credit, Labor, and Business -- References -- Section 2. Economic Freedom and Democracy -- Why Political and Civil Freedom are Fundamental to Economic Freedom, Reform, and Restructuring -- Introduction -- Modernization Theory and the "Authoritarian Advantage" -- Political/Civil Freedom and Economic Freedom.

Purpose
The challenge of predicting changes in aggregate income and stock prices is one that has occupied the research agendas of economists. This paper aims to use the consumption–income ratio and the dividend–price ratio to predict future income and stock prices.


Design/methodology/approach
To examine the stability of the consumption–income ratio and the dividend–price ratio, the authors run a two-variable, two-lag reduced-form VAR in the vein of Cochrane (1994), using a lag of each respective ratio as exogenous to the VAR. Additionally, the authors estimate an AR(4) model for income and prices.


Findings
The consumption–income ratio and the dividend–price ratio remain key to understanding future movements in income and stock prices. The consumption–income ratio significantly predicts future income in the USA, and aggregate income is easier to predict than consumption in the VAR model. The dividend–price ratio does not significantly predict future price growth. Consumption and dividend shocks have lasting impacts on income and prices.


Originality/value
The consumption–income ratio and the dividend–price ratio are still key to understanding future movements in income and stock prices. The consumption–income ratio significantly predicts future income in the USA, and aggregate income is easier to predict than consumption in the VAR model. However, the dividend–price ratio does not significantly predict future price growth, a change from previous research from the 1990s, despite the increasing complexity of stock markets. Consumption and dividend shocks have lasting impacts on income and prices and appear to be significant drivers in both the short- and long-run variance in income and prices.

What factors determine federal spending on environmental goods? Is severity of the hazard the only metric of consideration, or do other factors play a vital role in explaining spending? This paper seeks to answer this question and to identify disbursement patterns within the context of the Abandoned Mine Land Fund (AMLF) program, a fund created as an aspect of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. We explore whether political factors, as well as environmental and health factors, have an explanatory role in disbursement of AMLF monies. The political factors examined include environmental interest group influence and legislator preferences and/or pressures to fund sites in their home states or districts. The results found here suggest that there exists a mix of public and private interests present in AMLF disbursement decisions during the overall span of the program, and that political influences have gained strength in the decision-making calculus in response to changes in the funding structure of the AMLF.