For the past two decades, and recently with the economic recession, the media has emphasized the decline of manufacturing in the United States and other developed countries. In the U.S., some initially blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for this decline. Hearing that manufacturing is on the decline, one might reason that its…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

Resource allocation within education systems is approached from the perspective of economic theory and input-output processes. It is suggested that economic concepts of efficiency and productivity focus attention on factors affecting effective use of resources and should be systematically encouraged. (Author/MSE)

A newly developed input/output method for comparing the efficiency of urban elementary schools is presented. The method results in the identification of efficient and inefficient schools and provides management information relative to input and output measures. (Author/IRT)

In Britain, higher education is inappropriate for simplistic 'marketisation' but it is appropriate for more internal competition. Graduation data is used as an output measure for higher education. When output measures are set against input measures, Britain compares well with other nations in higher education. (Author/MLW)

The utility of cost-benefit analysis in program evaluation is illustrated using hypothetical examples of the consequences of natural environments service provision. Areas for further research related to cost and benefit implications are presented. Early intervention programs can use the cost-benefit framework to evaluate the social impact of…