Course Information

• Syllabus
• Lecture Notes
  • Introduction
  • Quantity of Education
  • Quality of Education: Part I
  • Quality of Education: Part II
    • Jacob & Levitt

   Additional Readings

•  Introduction
  • Hanushek, E.A. (2002), “Publicly Provided Education,” NBER Working Paper #8799, pp. 1-21
  • Goldin, C. (1998), “America’s Graduation from High School: The Evolution and Spread of Secondary Schooling in the Twentieth Century,” Journal of Economic History, 58, 345-374
  • Goldin, C. and L.F. Katz (1998), “The Origins of State-Level Differences in the Public Provision of Higher Education: 1890-1940,” American Economic Review, 88, 303-308
  • Goldin, C. and L.F. Katz (1999), “The Shaping of Higher Education: The Formative Years in the United States, 1890 to 1940,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13, 37-62
  • Goldin, C. and L.F. Katz (2001), “The Legacy of U.S. Educational Leadership: Notes on Distribution and Economic Growth in the 20^th Century,” American Economic Review, 91, 18-23
• Quantity of Education
  • Becker, G.S. (1993), “Nobel Lecture: The Economic Way of Looking at Life,” Journal of Political Economy, 101, 383-409 (particularly Sections I, IV, and VI)
  • Card, D. and T. Lemieux (2000), “Dropout and Enrollment Trends in the Post-War Period: What Went Wrong in the 1970s?” NBER Working Paper #7658, pp. 1-18
  • Dee, Thomas S. (2003), “Are there Civic Returns to Education?” NBER Working Paper #9588
• Quality of Education: Part I
  • Hanushek, E.A. (1986), “The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools,” Journal of Economic Literature, 24, 1141-1177
  • Hanushek, E.A. (1996), “Measuring Investment in Education,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10, 9-30
  • Dee, T.S. (2004), “The Race Connection,” Education Next, Spring, 53-59
  • Dee, T.S. (2006), “The Why Chromosome,” Education Next, Fall, 69-75
  • Jacob, B. and L. Lefgren (2006), “When Principals Rate Teachers,” Education Next, Spring, 59-64
  • Currie, J. (2001), “Early Childhood Education Programs,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15, 213-238

  • “The Truth About Charter Schools,” Education Next, Fall 2005, 51-65 (articles by Hoxby & Rockoff, Bifulco & Ladd)

• Quality of Education: Part II
  • Hoxby, C.M. (1998), “What Do America’s Traditional Forms of School Choice Teach Us About School Choice Reforms,” FRBNY Economic Policy Review, March, 47-59
  • Holmes, G.M., J. DeSimone, and N.G. Rupp (2006), “Friendly Competition,” Education Next, Winter, 67-70
  • Ladd, H.F. (2002), “School Vouchers: A Critical View,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16, 3-24
  • Neal, D. (2002), “How Vouchers Could Change the Market for Education,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16, 25-44
  • Levin, H.M. and H.L. Schwartz (2007), “Educational Vouchers for Universal Pre-Schools,” Economics of Education Review, 26, 3-16  (only Sections 1, 2)
  • Ladd, H.F. (2001), “School-Based Educational Accountability Systems: The Promise and the Pitfalls,” National Tax Journal, 54, 385-400
  • Kane, T.J. and D.O. Staiger (2002), “The Promise and Pitfalls of Using Imprecise School Accountability Measures,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16, 91-114
  • Hoxby, C.M. (2005), “Inadequate Yearly Progress,” Education Next, Summer, 47-51
  • Podgursky, M. (2006), “Is There a ‘Qualified Teacher’ Shortage?” Education Next, Spring, 27-32
  • Corcoran, S.P., W.N. Evans, and R.M. Schwab (2004), “Changing Labor-Market Opportunities for Women and the Quality of Teachers, 1957-2000,” American Economic Review, 94, 230-235
  • Hoxby, C.M. and A. Leigh (2005), “Wage Distortion: Why America’s Top Female College Graduates Aren’t Teaching,” Education Next, Spring, 51-56
  • Podgursky, M.J. and M.G. Springer (2007), “Teacher Performance Pay: A Review,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 26, 909-949
• In the News
  • High School Dropouts #1, MSNBC, 2 April 2008
  • High School Dropouts #2, Dallas Morning News, 5 April 2008
  • Gender Segregation, Time Magazine, 26 February 2008
  • Charters #1, Dallas Morning News, 5 April 2008
  • Charters #2, Dallas Morning News, 5 April 2008
  • Bush's 2008 State of the Union proposals regarding NCLB
  • Merit Pay, Time Magazine, 25 February 2008

Problem Sets

• Problem Set #1    Due 
  • Answer Key    
• Problem Set #2    Due 
  • Answer Key    
• Problem Set #3    Due
  • Answer Key    
• Problem Set #4    Due 
  • Answer Key
• Problem Set #5    Due
  • Answer Key   
• Problem Set #6    Due 
  • Answer Key  
• Problem Set #7    Due 
  • Answer Key  

• Problem Set #8    Due 

  • Answer Key  
• Problem Set #9    Due 
  • Answer Key  

   Exam Information

• Exam I ... 
  • Office Hours: 
  • Covers: Sections #1-2; PS #1-2
• Exam II ... 
  • Office Hours: 
  • Covers: Section #3; PS #3-5
• Exam III ...
  • Office Hours: 
  • Covers: Section #4; PS #6-8