Are college costs worth it? How ability,major, and debt affect the returns to schooling

This paper examines the financial value over the course of a lifetime of pursuing a college degree under a variety of different settings (e.g. major, student loan debt, individual ability). I account for ability/selection bias and the probability that entering freshmen will not eventually graduate.I find the financial proposition of attending college is a sound investment for most individuals and cost scenarios, although some scenarios do not pay off until late in life, or ever. I estimate the present discounted value of attending college for the median student to vary between $85,000 and $300,000 depending on the student’s major. Most importantly, the results of this paper emphasize the role that risk (e.g. the nontrivial chance that a student will not eventually graduate) plays in the cost-benefit analysis of obtaining a college degree.     

Any press is good press? The unanticipated effects of Title IX investigations on university outcomes

Since 2011, when the landmark “Dear Colleague” letter declared that the Department of Education (DoE) would use equal-access requirements of federal law to remediate sexual assault on college campuses, 458 investigations have been opened. This letter was withdrawn in 2017 and it remains uncertain how the DoE will handle the issue in the future. We examine the effects of the investigations arising from the 2011 policy change on university outcomes. We find that applications and enrollment increase in response to Title IX investigations, for both males and females. We find little evidence of effects on degree completion or donations.     

Who benefits from tuition-free,top-quality universities? Evidence from Brazil

This paper investigates the long-term impact on earnings of attending a tuition-free, top-quality university in Brazil. We identify the causal effect through a sharp discontinuity in an admission process based on test scores. If admitted, low-income students are found to increase their earnings by 26% ten years later. However, admission has a small and insignificant effect on high-income students. The difference between income groups is not explained by educational attainment, program choice, or selection into better-paying jobs. The evidence suggests that most low-income applicants, if not admitted, still graduate from college but with much lower returns to education. High-income applicants who just miss the cutoff, however, can find other opportunities such that earnings trajectories are unchanged. Our results underscore the role of affordable higher education in promoting social mobility.     

College quality and early adult outcomes

This paper estimates the effects of various college qualities on several early adult outcomes, using panel data from the National Education Longitudinal Study. I compare the results using ordinary least squares with three alternative methods of estimation, including instrumental variables, and the methods used by Dale and Krueger [(2002). Estimating the payoff to attending a more selective college: An application of selection on observables and unobservables. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(4), 1491–1528.] and Black and Smith [(2004). How robust is the evidence on the effects of college quality? Evidence from matching. Journal of Econometrics, 121, 99–124.]. I find that college quality does have positive significant effects on most outcomes studied using OLS. While there is some evidence of positive selection bias in the OLS results, the alternative methods rarely produce findings that are significantly different from the OLS estimates. Furthermore, alternative methods have their own limitations, which are discussed. Across methods of estimation, there is solid evidence of positive effects of college quality on college graduation and household income, and weaker evidence of effects on hourly wages.     

A marketing technique for student recruiting

This article outlines a technique for analyzing various segments of a college's market for students. Careful scrutiny of the segments in which the college has a relatively limited appeal may suggest strategies for improving the college's performance in those segments. The article further describes a pilot test of the technique using data from Shippens-burg State College. Two key results of the pilot test were: 1. The college should give strong consideration to developing programs of interest to high-ability male students, a group currently underrepresented. 2. The development of a tuition schedule based on parental income would increase the proportion of lower-income students at the college. The cost, however, would have to be borne by the state, as the college would lose upper-income students in substantial numbers.     

REALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS AMONG BLACKS AND WHITES IN TWO‐AND FOUR‐YEAR COLLEGES

This paper looks at an aspect of the two‐year college: that it is the logical system for achieving educational equality in higher education. The authors find that low aptitude blacks are overrepresented at four‐year colleges, that blacks are less likely than whites to meet aspirations of attending four‐year colleges, and that attending a two‐year college is related to reduced probability that four‐year education will be realized.     

高等教育与收入分配：改变命运还是阶层锁定——基于CGSS2008数据的实证研究

利用中国社会综合调查2008年数据,对高等教育与收入分配之间的关系进行了系统考察.通过基础的OLS回归发现,接受高等教育可以有效提高个体收入,且提高幅度远大于整体教育以及义务教育等阶段;通过分位数回归发现,高等教育在不同收入分位点上的影响存在着显著的差异,对于中低收入群体体现出比高收入群体更高的回报率,起到了缩小收入差距的作用;倾向得分匹配的结果显示,普通OLS估计方法对于高等教育回报率估计产生微弱的向下偏误,结合OB分解可以得出结论,即高等教育与家庭背景等个人特征因素对于收入差距的贡献是相互抵消的,接受高等教育很大程度上弥补了家庭背景、社会关系造成的收入差异,成为打破阶层锁定、改变命运的有效途径.本文的分析结果,为高等教育的发展、高等教育作用的发挥以及缩小收入差距政策的制定提供了经验证据.     

EXAMINING POTENTIAL BIAS IN SCREENING MEASURES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS BY SPECIAL EDUCATION AND LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS SUBGROUPS

To provide timely and effective supports for students reading below grade level, schools require methods for quickly and accurately identifying those students in need. One method for identifying those students is through universal screening. Assessments such as oral reading fluency (ORF) and Maze reading comprehension are commonly used as screening assessments in middle grades. The current study examined ORF and Maze for evidence of bias across two subgroups known to be at increased risk for failure in reading: (a) students with learning disabilities and (b) students from low‐income households. Data from 4,215 students in the sixth (n = 1,126), seventh (n = 1,361), and eighth grades (n = 1,728) were analyzed. Results indicate no significant differences in predictive validity for students from low‐income households compared to students from middle and upper income households. For students with learning disabilities only 8th grade scores showed any evidence of bias compared to students without diagnosed disabilities. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

高校教师年终一次性奖金纳税筹划

为充分调动高校教师教学、科研的积极性,高校一方面按照国家政策逐步增加教师的工资收入,另一方面也通过在年终发放一次性奖金来提高教师的收入水平。但是,年终奖的计算过程具有特殊性,一是首计算方法全年只能使用一次,二是虽然年终奖单独作为一个月工资所得计算纳税,但在计算过程中速算扣除数全年也只能使用一次,从而导致年终一次性奖金发放存在无效区间,在此区间内发放年终奖会造成“多发不如少发”的矛盾现象。针对这种情况,应结合高校教师年终奖的发放特点确定年终奖合理发放方式,进行科学合法的纳税筹划,降低高校教师的税收负担,最大限度地保障高校教师的实际收入。     

Assets and educational achievement: Theory and evidence

This special issue of Economics of Education Review explores the role of savings and asset holding in post-secondary educational achievement. Most college success research has focused on income rather than assets as a predictor, and most college financing policy has focused on tuition support and educational debt, rather than asset accumulation. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence that household asset holdings, especially savings for education, may have a pronounced positive influence, independent from income, in post-secondary educational success. Moreover, the fundamental reality is that savings plays a role, even though sometimes small, in college financing for most households. For these empirical and practical reasons, it may be important to pay greater attention to savings and asset holding for education in the future than we have in the past. The articles in this volume contribute empirical evidence, theoretical understanding, and potential policy directions regarding saving, asset holding, and educational achievement.     

The Differential Impact of Wealth Versus Income in the College-Going Process

College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research and public policy devotes significant attention to race, income, and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet, wealth’s role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. This paper examines the differences between wealth and income in the college-going process, specifically applying to college, attending college, and what type of college attended (2-year, 4-year, and more or less selective). To examine these relationships, the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1997) is linked to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to create a nationally representative dataset. Binary and multinomial logistic regressions reveal that wealth is consistently more significant in the college choice process than income. Wealth’s significance as a predictor for college application and attending a 2-year college versus no college disappears when controls for human capital, habitus, social capital, and cultural capital are added. However, wealth’s significance persists for less selective and more selective 4-year college attendance, even after including these controls. K-12 and postsecondary institutions and policymakers, looking to level the playing field and make college more accessible, must address wealth’s impact on the college-going process.     

调整个税政策应对经济衰退的国际比较与借鉴

从个税转型、税前扣除、税率设计、税收抵免等角度介绍国外经验,分析我国现状,并提出应对经济衰退的个税改革建议。我国应实行类似于二元所得税的分类综合所得税制,调整、增加税前扣除,重新设计工资薪金所得的税率结构,引入税收抵免机制,提高高收入者的税收负担。     

Exploring the Effects of Student Expectations about Financial Aid on Postsecondary Choice: A Focus on Income and Racial/Ethnic Differences

This study investigates how the expectations of different types of financial aid affect the student college choice process from application through enrollment. We find that students from different race and income groups respond differentially to aid packages in their application and enrollment decisions depending on their levels of aid expectations. In application behavior, Asians at all income levels increase their likelihood of application at a greater rate in response to an increase in their aid expectations than other racial groups. Simulations indicate that enrollment probabilities decline more for African American and Hispanic students than whites and Asians when they expect to receive financial aid but do not. The findings suggest the particular importance of financial aid packages in the college choice process for underrepresented minority students.     

Revisiting free school meal eligibility as a proxy for pupil socio‐economic deprivation

Whether someone has ever had free school meal (FSM) eligibility over a six‐year period is the measure of socio‐economic disadvantage currently used in the English school system. It is used to monitor the socio‐economic gap in achievement in the education system, to identify particular children at risk of low achievement and to direct funding to particular children and schools. In this paper we assess how well this measure predicts pupil attainment in secondary school in comparison to other measures of socio‐economic background known to influence pupil attainment, such as parental education or income. We ask whether the FSM measure is an adequate proxy for a pupil's socio‐economic disadvantage in an educational context. To do this we draw on the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England and matched administrative data. We find that the FSM eligibility measure correlates highly with other measures of socio‐economic disadvantage, however it does not identify all children living in what would be deemed deprived households. We then compare the extent to which the FSM eligibility measure predicts educational achievement relative to other measures of deprivation and find that its predictive power is only marginally lower than many richer survey measures. This provides some reassurance on its use in policy.     

A Preliminary Evaluation of the Undergraduate Research Participation Program of the National Science Foundation

Abstract

The possible effects of participating in the Undergraduate Research Participation Program of the National Science Foundation was examined in a longitudinal study of undergraduate college students attending a representative national sample of colleges and universities. Participants in the program were shown to be significantly superior to nonparticipants in terms of their academic and extracurricular achievements during high school and also in terms of their average academic ability as measured by standardized tests. Participation in the program appears to increase the student’s chances of being author or co-author of a scientific article; it also increases his interest in becoming a college professor and in obtaining the PhD degree. Although a large number of potentially biasing student input variables were statistically controlled, the possibility exists that these apparent effects of the program may in fact be attributable to additional uncontrolled variables that bias the selection of the URP program participants. For this reason, some consideration should be given to the possibility of evaluating such programs experimentally.     

Labor Market Returns for Graduates of Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Latinos have become the largest minority group in American postsecondary education, a majority of whom attend two- or four-year Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). However, little is known about labor market outcomes as result of attending these institutions. Using a unique student-level administrative database in Texas, and accounting for college selectivity, we examine whether attending an HSI influences labor market outcomes ten years after high school graduation for Latino students in Texas. We find no difference in the earnings of Hispanic graduates from HSIs and non-HSIs. This analysis represents one of the first to examine the labor market outcomes for Latino students in this sector of education accounting for critical factors that include a student’s high school and community context.     

放大教育投资规模:调整高教支出负担主体与时段

经测算,我国2005年入学的大学生,毕业后至65岁前,年薪中超出大专以下人员年薪的级差,贴现至毕业工作当年,保守测算,总现值超过115万元。如果让大学生提前贷取未来的一小部分预计收益,用于支付当前教育支出,政府将财政性教育经费更多地投入到农村基础教育、大学生奖学金、科研项目,将有助于增大教育投资规模、优化教育资源配置,并促进教育公平。     

To attend or not to attend: Examining the relationship between food hardship,school attendance and education expenditure

This study examines the relationship between food hardship, school attendance, and education expenditure using nationally representative data from a survey of 14,009 households in Ghana. After controlling for household, and geographical characteristics and using a standard instrumental variable approach to control for unobservable characteristics, we find a statistically significant negative relationship between food hardship and the number of children attending secondary, private, public, technical and vocational school, and expenditure on education. A differential analysis based on welfare stratification indicates a statistically significant positive relationship between food hardship and male children attending school, and the number of children attending private school for those in high-income households.     

Walking in your footsteps: Sibling spillovers in higher education choices

This paper studies spillovers from older to younger siblings in higher education choices. Exploiting discontinuous admission rules generated by Chile’s centralized admission system to higher education, we identify strong sibling spillovers in the choice of college. Having an older sibling enroll in a given college increases by 42% the probability of enrolling in that institution. In contrast, we find no effect on major choices. We show evidence suggesting that sibling spillovers in college choice are mainly driven by siblings deriving benefits from attending college together.     

从税收公平原则看个人所得税改革

公平原则是税收的基本原则之一，而我国目前在个人所得税税收制度、税收征纳方面还存在诸多不公平之处。只有从税收公平原则出发，从实行综合分类的混合税制、调整费用扣除标准和增加扣除项目、适当提高起征点、建立严密有效的税收征管机制等方面深化改革，才能逐步实现个人所得税收的公平、合理。