This dissertation focuses on microeconomic topics in the fields of public, labor and education. Particularly, this dissertation evaluates state policies in higher education and develops a global measure for job quality. Chapter 1 studies how state merit aid programs affect undergraduate degrees earned in Science, Technology, Engineering and…

Policymakers are interested in extending federal higher education dollars to programs fewer than 15 weeks. This analysis shares key facts about the outcomes and equity implications of very-short-term (15 weeks or fewer) programs. This analysis of nationally representative survey data from the Adult Training and Education Survey, combined with…

Despite the growing popularity of free college proposals, countries with higher college subsidies tend to have higher enrollment rates but not higher graduation rates. To capture this evidence and evaluate potential free college policies, we rely on a dynamic model of college enrollment, performance, and graduation estimated using rich…

The paper presents a review of the study and practice pertaining to the effectiveness of performance-related pay with a particular emphasis on higher educational organizations. The overall research question guiding the review was to establish the extent to which performance pay-based practices have been successful undergoing great changes in…

Employers are demanding higher skilled and better educated workers. Yet employer sentiment and the high default rate on student loans suggests a mismatch between the programs students are completing and the work they are able to find. To report on trends in postsecondary education, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) mostly relies on surveys of…

Post-recession Federal policy initiatives, such as secondary/postsecondary career pathways and gainful employment higher education accountability standards, prioritize the alignment of education practices with market-driven outcomes. Using longitudinal student record data merged from college and state K-12 data systems with the Unemployment…

Research messages 2010 is a collection of summaries of research projects published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The summaries are clustered under five broad themes used by NCVER to organise its research and analysis: Industry and employers; Students and individuals; Teaching and learning: VET system; and VET in…

The growing use of part-time, non-tenure track faculty in higher education has become a nationwide phenomenon. The college-teaching part-time instructor is one who is working for low pay, has little job security, and has few benefits. College part-time instructors' employment is in a contingent state. They do not have the job protection provided…

This paper examines issues involved in selecting a strategy that could be carried out by institutions to achieve salary equity between male and female faculty. It compares potential strategies based on equity of salary adjustments, political constraints, cost to the institution, and whether the plan removes inequities. Steps in determining…

From a sample of 15,000 veterans, 6,141 responded to a series of questionnaires developed to gather information to assess the effectiveness of the veterans' education program (authorized by the Veterans' Readjustment Benefits Act of 1966). Responses indicated that generally, a veteran entered training for one of three reasons--to earn a degree,…

Eight reasons are given against the use of merit pay for university faculty. The introduction of salary schedules is suggested to eliminate the debates and inequities of merit evaluations. (FG)

These four papers are from a symposium on evaluating the impact of human resource development (HRD). "Pre-Job Training and the Earnings of High-Tech Employees in Taiwan" (Tung-Chun Huang) reports on a study that concludes that public training programs have no impact on participants' earnings in later jobs, but participation in private…