Economics of education

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session

This course combines economic theory, econometric literature and institutional literature to examine current issues in U.S. education. Topics include (but will not be limited to): The basic theory of investments in education (human capital theory); the empirical problem of disentangling the return to education from the return to innate ability; the role of education in national economic growth; the association between education and individual earnings and reasons why that relationship has changed over time; the role of early childhood education; the main approaches to K-12 school reform (money, choice, educational standards, and teacher selection/training); and the problem of increasing access to higher education. Along the way, we will discuss computers both in their effect on educational requirements and their potential role in teaching skills. We will also discuss the role of education in individual mobility and in national growth.

An education course is a good place to try to improve your education. In particular, I want you to engage with the material and minimize "chalk and talk" where I do all the talking and you sit in your seats taking notes, doing email, etc. We are going to institute two or three procedures to help push in this direction:

Peter will run the weekly section meeting and hold office hours. The first two section meetings will present the basic econometrics needed to read many of the course readings. Subsequent sections will expand on material in class and will hold assigned student debates on various topics.

14.01 or its equivalent is required and 14.30 or its equivalent is recommended. Students who have no experience with basic econometrics can fill in their background in the first section meetings (see above).

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