Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 4

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

Contributors

Reflections on the Economics of Education

Introduction to Handbook

Chapter 1: Personality Psychology and Economics

1 Introduction

2 Personality and Personality Traits: Definitions and a Brief History of Personality Psychology

3 Conceptualizing Personality and Personality Traits within Economic Models

4 Measuring Personality

5 Implementing the Measurement Systems

6 Personality and Preference Parameters

7 The Predictive Power of Personality Traits

8 Stability and Change in Personality Traits and Preferences

9 Summary and Conclusions

References

Chapter 2: Nonproduction Benefits of Education

1 Introduction

2 Education’s Effects on Crime

3 Education’s Effects on Health and Mortality

4 Education’s Effect on Citizenship, Political Participation, and Democracy

5 Conclusions

Appendix: Estimating Mediating Effects

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 3: Overeducation and Mismatch in the Labor Market

1 Introduction

2 Questions

3 Measurement Issues

4 Incidence

5 Impact on Earnings

6 Relation to Labor Market Theories

7 Conclusion

References

Chapter 4: Migration and Education

1 Introduction

2 Empirical Evidence

3 The Migrant

4 The Effect of Migration on the Skill Base and Educational Attainment of Nonmigrants

5 The Children of Immigrants

6 Conclusion

References

Chapter 5: Inequality, Human Capital Formation, and the Process of Development

1 Introduction

2 The Benchmark Model

3 A Unified Theory of Inequality and Growth

4 Nonfinancial Hurdles for Human Capital Accumulation

5 Evidence

6 Concluding Remarks

References

Chapter 6: The Design of Performance Pay in Education

1 Screening Teachers

2 Moral Hazard

3 Markets

4 Conclusion

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 7: Educational Vouchers in International Contexts

1 The Context for Vouchers Abroad

2 Voucher Programs in Colombia, Chile, and Sweden

3 Effects of Vouchers on Voucher Users

4 Effects of Vouchers on Overall School System

5 Conclusion and Suggested Directions for Future Study

References

Chapter 8: Dropouts and Diplomas

1 Introduction and Motivating Data

2 Models of Years of Schooling and Application to Degree Attainment

3 Specification of College Degree Attainment

4 Evidence on Determinants of Degree Attainment

5 Unanswered Questions in the Study of Degree Attainment

References

Chapter 9: The Political Economy of Education Funding

1 Introduction

2 Public Education Spending with a Private Option

3 Vouchers

4 Heterogeneity

5 Education Funding in Multi-Community Models

6 Dynamics

7 Empirical Issues

8 Future Directions

References

Index

What is the value of an education? Volume 4 of the Handbooks in the Economics of Education combines recent data with new methodologies to examine this and related questions from diverse perspectives. School choice and school competition, educator incentives, the college premium, and other considerations help make sense of the investments and returns associated with education. Volume editors Eric A. Hanushek (Stanford), Stephen Machin (University College London) and Ludger Woessmann (Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich) draw clear lines between newly emerging research on the economics of education and prior work. In conjunction with Volume 3, they measure our current understanding of educational acquisition and its economic and social effects.

• Winner of a 2011 PROSE Award Honorable Mention in Economics from the Association of American Publishers
• Demonstrates how new methodologies are yielding fresh perspectives in education economics
• Presents topics and authors whose data and conclusions attest to the globalization of research
• Complements the policy and social outcomes themes of volume 3

Graduate students and professionals working in economics and education worldwide