Back Introduction This course combines economic theory, econometric literature and institutional literature to examine current issues in education and Training in public and private organization. The program in Economics and Education is a dynamic program that has maintained its position of leadership in this rapidly growing field. Economic concepts and analytic methods are increasingly influential in education policy and administration, and graduates who can combine quantitative skills with substantive expertise are in high demand. Our program prepares students to apply the economic approach, as well as its methodological tools, to contemporary education policy issues both domestically and globally. Topics include: 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; and the problem of increasing access to higher education.
Introduction
This course combines economic theory, econometric literature and institutional literature to examine current issues in education and Training in public and private organization. The program in Economics and Education is a dynamic program that has maintained its position of leadership in this rapidly growing field. Economic concepts and analytic methods are increasingly influential in education policy and administration, and graduates who can combine quantitative skills with substantive expertise are in high demand. Our program prepares students to apply the economic approach, as well as its methodological tools, to contemporary education policy issues both domestically and globally. Topics include: 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; and the problem of increasing access to higher education.
Program Objective
1. Apply standard economic theories to understand how individuals make education
choices.
2. Apply standard economic theories to explain and predict education markets, employment and their inefficiencies.
3. Understand the role of economic theory and thinking in evaluating education policies.
Learning Outcomes
Students should be able to:
1. Define and understand the differences between human capital and signaling model.
2. Understand methods used by economists to evaluate education policies.
3. Understand and Model the Education Production Function.
4. Define the return to education and understand its empirical estimates.
5. Understand and evaluate the debate regarding school accountability.
6. Define and understand externalities and peer effects in education.
7. Understand the various degrees of school choice and their effects.
Class Participation (Three Kinds)
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:
- On the first day of class, we will decide whether we will choose one student each day to take class presentation and course notes. If we adopt this system, the notes will then be distributed electronically to other students in the class. This should allow other students to focus more on class discussion. (see below table).
- Beginning with the second class, each student should bring to class two good questions they have developed about that day's readings.
- Paper development about one of the critical issues of Iran's Education or Higher Education or Firms Education and Training Centers
Assessment of learning outcomes
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
| Problem sets | 10% |
| Class presentation | 25% |
| Final exam | 15% |
| Paper presentation | 50% |
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.
Course timetable: Sessions and Objectives are described as follow table:
| Session | Objectives |
- Economics of Education
| Teaches the basic economic concepts and methods to be used for further study and analysis of educational finance, education and inequality, education and economic growth, the impact of educational policies on education; and outcomes, school reform, and school choice. |
- Education and economic development
| This session teaches students key perspectives on development and economic growth; the theoretical and empirical arguments linking education to economic growth; the main economic issues behind persistently low education levels in the developing world; the progress in raising these education levels being made through deliberate intervention and market responses; how students can become professionally involved in this progress; and a core set of empirical and theoretical skills useful in parsing these topics. |
- Resource Allocation in Education
| This session reviews the literature on school effectiveness with respect to the allocation of resources. It addresses and analyzes education production functions and cost-effectiveness analysis in educational decision-making. |
- Microeconomic Theory Applications to Education
| The purpose of the session is to provide students with the main theoretical tools and concepts for microeconomic analysis in the field of education and elsewhere, and to make students conversant in their application to real world issues and in the debates surrounding their strengths and weaknesses. These are powerful, yet controversial, tools, and are at the heart of much of today’s education and social policy debate. Topics covered include supply, demand, consumer optimization, expected value, uncertainty, insurance, producer optimization, equilibrium, perfect competition, monopoly, imperfect competition, externalities, and public goods. |
- Economics of higher education
| This session uses theoretical and empirical economic analysis to analyze the behavior of higher education students and institutions and to study private and public policy related to post-secondary education. |
- Evaluating educational privatization and school choice
| Educational privatization and school choice raise fundamental questions about the purposes of education, the nature of community, and the boundaries of the market. Through close reading of court decisions and legislative acts as well as works in economics, sociology, history, political science, pedagogy, and investigative journalism, students in this session address these questions. Requirements include four essays and one research paper. |
- Education, skills, Unemployment and labor market
| Relation between education and Employment in Iran Reasons of unemployment of Iranian Youth and job seekers |
- International and comparative studies in educational finance
| Educational finance in international settings. Financing role of international development agencies. International and comparative studies in educational finance. |
Books and papers:
