Undergraduate economics degrees awarded by U.S. colleges and universities increased almost 12 percent from 2013 through 2015, then stabilized at a little above the 2015 level until 2018, after which they began an accelerating decline over the past five years to end back at a little below 2015 levels.

The COVID-related financial market decline and economic recession have raised new concerns regarding the financial sustainability of retirement plans for state and local government employees, the largest group of whom is public school teachers. Using data from the Public Plans Database and the National Income and Product Accounts, I analyze…

Theory suggests that strategic compensation can not only serve as a powerful motivational incentive to increase worker performance, but also improve the composition of the workforce through the attraction and retention of high performers and discouragement of lesser performers from entering or staying in the profession. This study tests the…

Undergraduate economics degrees awarded by U.S. colleges and universities were stagnant from 2010 (2009-10) through 2013, increased almost 14 percent from 2013 through 2015, and have subsequently stabilized at just above one percent annual growth.

This is the first article that compares terminal master's degree programs in economics from universities that have a PhD program in economics with those that do not offer PhD programs in economics. The authors compare these differences based on surveys in 2002 and 2012. They examine differences in general program characteristics, department…

Undergraduate degrees awarded in economics by U.S. colleges and universities were stagnant from 2009-10 through 2012-13, increased rapidly (almost 15 percent) over the two years from 2012-13 through 2014-15, but have again leveled off in 2015-16.

Since 1999, one of the main strategies the Colombian government has used to mitigate coca cultivation is to spray the crops with herbicide, which is carried out from airplanes. In this paper I evaluate the consequences of this strategy for rural households in areas where coca is cultivated, specifically the effects of aerial spraying on child…

The number of undergraduate economics degrees awarded by colleges and universities in the United States rose by 18 percent from 2007 to 2010. The upward trend ended abruptly in 2010 and was followed by three years of virtual stagnation (Siegfried 2014). In 2013-14, undergraduate economics degrees began to accelerate again, rising about 5 percent…

The 2007-10 growth spurt (18 percent over three years) in U.S. undergraduate economics degrees came to an abrupt end in 2011 and 2012. Degrees awarded grew less than one percent over the past two years.

The economy's need for workers originates in the demand for the goods and services that they provide. So, to project employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) starts by projecting the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018. GDP is the value of the final goods produced and services provided in the United States. Then, BLS estimates the…

This article presents results from the 2012 National Survey of Access and Finance Issues conducted by the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges (NCSDCC), an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges, and includes a comparison of survey results from previous years dating back to 2003, with the…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

The trend in U.S. undergraduate economics degrees continued its upward trajectory in 2008-9. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. This year's report covers three main issues--all perennial problems, but with new analysis based on the latest data--in addition to summarizing the current results from the annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey of full-time faculty…

This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. Although the results of this year's survey of full-time faculty compensation are marginally better than they have been the last two years, 2011-12 represents the continuation of a historic low period for faculty salaries. The overall average salary for full-time…