Voluntary contributions when the public good is not necessarily normal

We argue that there are interesting examples of privately provided public goods that do not satisfy the assumption of strict normality, and reconsider voluntary-contribution games in a more general framework. We show that, in general, (1) equalizing transfers between individuals with identical tastes can increase total supply of the public good, and (2) more of the public good can be supplied if agents move sequentially rather than simultaneously. These results are in sharp contrast to earlier conclusions derived in the literature under the assumption of strict normality.     

Local public expenditure in Sweden a model where the median voter is not necessarily decisive

This paper deals with local public expenditures, and the analysis is based on cross-section data for the Swedish municipalities. Two models are estimated; one is the basic median voter model where the decisive voter is assumed to be the voter with median income, while the other is a more general statistical alternative. The statistical alternative nests the basic median voter model as a special case, which makes it easy to test the null hypothesis that the basic median voter model is the correct model, given that the alternative is the true general structure. Although our results indicate a rejection of the null hypothesis, the estimation results are, nevertheless, similar for the two models.     

Bad volatility is not always bad: evidence from the commodity markets

ABSTRACT

Using exchange-traded fund (ETF) options data, we examine the predictive power of variance risk premium on returns of four commodities: crude oil, natural gas, gold and silver. We also analyze the predictive power of upside and downside variance risk premiums using a decomposition model conditional on the direction of the underlying market movement. We find that both the undecomposed and decomposed variance risk premiums are able to predict commodity prices. The decomposed variance risk premiums, however, outperform the undecomposed premium. The importance of upside and downside variance risk premiums differs across markets, related to hedging demand. In energy markets, both upside and downside premiums have strong predictive power, while in precious metal markets, only the upside premium is predictive.     

Public overspending in higher education

We study the trade-off between governmental investments in pretertiary and tertiary education from an efficiency point of view. We develop a model comprising agents with different incomes and abilities, public and private schools, and public universities that select applicants based on an admission exam. Reallocating governmental resources from tertiary to pretertiary education may positively affect aggregate production and human capital if some conditions are satisfied. For instance, in an economy with a high proportion of credit-constrained students, a reallocation of expenditure toward public schools benefits many students, compensating for the negative effect of a decrease in public university investments. We also quantitatively investigate the optimal allocation of public investment between pretertiary and tertiary education, and we find that a 10% increase in productivity of public investments in pretertiary education could increase the optimal GDP between 2.1% and 3%.     

Subsidizing heterogeneous higher education systems

In many countries, there is an ongoing debate on the public funding of the higher education (HE) system. Our goal is to examine the theoretical justification for the establishment of HE institutions and analyze the self-selection of students under different policies of student subsidies. We study nonstationary equilibria of an overlapping-generation economy in a hierarchical education system. Given the capacity constraints of Universities, we explore the impact of adding new institutions, to be called Colleges, to the HE system, focusing on three issues. Given that Colleges are less productive and less selective than Universities: (a) Should the government establish Colleges? (b) Should the government divert funds from Universities to Colleges? On the basis of long-run economic growth considerations, we obtain positive answers to both questions. (c) Then, we compare several policies of student subsidies across the board. Our results suggest that much caution is needed in the implementation of student subsidies. Specifically, targeting subsidies to the highly-ranked students in each institution may distort their self-selection across institutions and downgrade the human capital accumulation in the economy. To offset this distortion in the demand for HE it may be useful to target subsidies to the low-ranked students in each institution. Our model also accounts for several stylized facts over time: (1) the increase in the number of institutions and students, (2) the decline in College admission standards, and (3) the decline in public budget per student and the corresponding increase in out-of-pocket student payments.     

A model of adjuncts in higher education

We examine the phenomenon of the expanded use of non-tenure-track positions (“adjuncts”) and construct a supply-side Harris–Todaro model. Low adjunct wages are attributable to a “Hope Rent” from the gap between private opportunities and tenure-track utility.     

Measuring sustainability: Why the ecological footprint is bad economics and bad environmental science

The ecological footprint is a measure of the resources necessary to produce the goods that an individual or population consumes. It is also used as a measure of sustainability, though evidence suggests that it falls short. The assumptions behind footprint calculations have been extensively criticized; I present here further evidence that it fails to satisfy simple economic principles because the basic assumptions are contradicted by both theory and historical data. Specifically, I argue that the footprint arbitrarily assumes both zero greenhouse gas emissions, which may not be ex ante optimal, and national boundaries, which makes extrapolating from the average ecological footprint problematic. The footprint also cannot take into account intensive production, and so comparisons to biocapacity are erroneous. Using only the assumptions of the footprint then, one could argue that the Earth can sustain greatly increased production, though there are important limitations that the footprint cannot address, such as land degradation. Finally, the lack of correlation between land degradation and the ecological footprint obscures the effects of a larger sustainability problem. Better measures of sustainability would address these issues directly.     

Intrinsic versus instrumental benefits of higher education: the challenge from self-funded higher education

ABSTRACT

UK policy concern about the value and funding of Higher Education has focussed on the intrinsic and instrumental impacts of education. Typically, returns to education are identified by narrow economic metrics, like earnings. However, policy makers recognize the need for wider measures of welfare. Consequently, contemporaneous relationships with subjective well-being (SWB) have been explored. In this paper the effects of higher education on SWB are mapped through time. The results show positive effects in the first year at university that dissipate afterwards. Intrinsic benefits from education remain but get eroded implying increased stress from loan financed education with transition to a more instrumental perspective on education.     

Measuring sustainability: Why the ecological footprint is bad economics and bad environmental science

The ecological footprint is a measure of the resources necessary to produce the goods that an individual or population consumes. It is also used as a measure of sustainability, though evidence suggests that it falls short. The assumptions behind footprint calculations have been extensively criticized; I present here further evidence that it fails to satisfy simple economic principles because the basic assumptions are contradicted by both theory and historical data. Specifically, I argue that the footprint arbitrarily assumes both zero greenhouse gas emissions, which may not be ex ante optimal, and national boundaries, which makes extrapolating from the average ecological footprint problematic. The footprint also cannot take into account intensive production, and so comparisons to biocapacity are erroneous. Using only the assumptions of the footprint then, one could argue that the Earth can sustain greatly increased production, though there are important limitations that the footprint cannot address, such as land degradation. Finally, the lack of correlation between land degradation and the ecological footprint obscures the effects of a larger sustainability problem. Better measures of sustainability would address these issues directly.     

Political connections and higher education

Do political connections affect investment in human capital? This paper studies the higher education decisions of politically connected and unconnected students during China's economic transition. Using the sequential introduction of reforms, I show that economic liberalization increased tertiary educational attainment, as well as sorting of students into different degree types depending on family background. Students whose parents were members of the Chinese Communist Party selected into relatively less prestigious vocational colleges with lower admissions standards. In contrast, politically unconnected individuals responded to the higher skill premium following the reforms by studying harder to obtain more demanding and sought‐after university degrees.     

高等职业教育的课程建设

由于我国高职教育较之高等学历教育起步要晚,目前高职教育在教学内容、教学方法等方面存在着知识老化,方法陈旧落后、理论和实践相脱节的现象,因此课程改革是高等职业教育发展的必由之路.本文以机械制造基础课为例讨论一下高职专业课程改革的思路.     

民办普通高等学校加强大学生创业教育的探析

民办普通高等学校多以培养应用型人才为己任,而创业教育是培养应用型人才的重要途径。但是,目前多数民办普通高等学校开设创业教育的时间并不长,还存在诸多问题。分析了民办普通高等学校大学生创业难的制约因素,在借鉴国外先进的创业教育经验的基础上,提出提升创业教育质量的建议。     

论我国高校公司共基础生态教育

由于人类对自然和自身的不正确认识及盲目开发行为,导致了20世纪60,70年代世界全球性的生态危机,生态危机的产生,发成为世界及我国生态教育兴起发展的基础,生态教育是培养当代大学生树立生态世界观的重要途径,是促进我国经济,社会,文化,生态环境协调,持续发展的必然选择,同时也是我国西部开发中西部生态环境得以保护和改善的根本保护和有力措施。     

Quality and economies of scale in higher education

This study attempts to develop and empirically estimate an average cost and output reltion for average total for higher education. Statistical results based on data for top PhD granting institutions suggest there are economies of scale in higher education. Academic reputation is also an important variable in explaining variations in average total cost.     

高职院校创新教育状况调查

本文以问卷和个别谈话的方式调查并分析了高职院校实施创新教育的基本情况,包括学生对创新的认识理解、学生的创造性倾向、学校创设的支持鼓励创新的环境等,并提出了高职院校实施创新教育的基本对策。     

论加强高职大学生的职业道德教育

高职院校培养学生良好的职业道德是体现高职教育特色,提高高职院校办学质量的重要举措.高职院校职业道德教育,必须从学生成长成才阶段的实际情况出发,把社会对人才的要求与高职学生成长的特点结合起来,建立完善的教育内容体系,通过多渠道多途径使之得以实施.思想政治理论课是大学生思想道德教育的主阵地,实习实训、专业知识课等都承载着职业道德教育的任务.     

高职教育中专业的职业性意蕴

职业性是高职教育专业最突出的市场性特征,同时,职业性也广泛见诸于普通高等教育专业类型。在职业性标准上的区分,凸显两种类型教育专业不同的内在逻辑。     

高职院校高等数学课程渗透数学史教育的探索

数学史是研究数学发展规律的科学,在职业院校数学课程教学中渗透数学史教育,对激发学生学习兴趣、培养学生创新能力,具有十分重要的意义。     

Competition and diversification in public and private higher education

The development of mass higher education and growing competition between higher education institutions has given increasing visibility to the issue of diversification. This article analyses the issue of programme diversification, using a panel of 181 Portuguese higher education institutions over the period 1995 to 2007, by comparing the behaviour of public and private institutions. The results show that the legal status of institutions is the major determinant of programme diversification, as private institutions are far more specialized than their public counterparts. The study also evaluates the role of other institutional variables, such as the institution’s size, age, location, institutional mission and research intensity, to explain differences in the diversification behaviour of higher education institutions. The results provide important insights, as competition has been thought to improve the performance of higher education institutions.