This paper uses a new data-set for cumulative national investment in formal schooling and a new instrument for schooling to estimate the national return on investment in 61 countries. These estimates are combined with data on the private rate of return on investment in schooling to estimate the external rate of return. In 1990 the external rate of…

This article details the application of an economic theory to the fiscal operation of a small engineering consulting firm. Nobel Prize-winning economist Wassily Leontief developed his general input-output economic theory in the mid-twentieth century to describe the flow of goods and services in the U.S. economy. We use one mathematical model that…

In tasks as diverse as stock market predictions and jury deliberations, a person's feelings of confidence in the appropriateness of different choices often impact that person's final choice. The current study examines the mathematical modeling of confidence calibration in a simple dual-choice task. Experiments are motivated by an accumulator…

Applies the methods used in the analysis of input-output tables to the study of interdependence among the different subdivisions of organizations. (Author/IRT)

Benefit-cost analysis consists of establishing ratios of benefits to costs for a set of project variants. The decision rule is to select that project variant where the ratio is a maximum. This paper argues that specification and estimation errors can contribute to findings for large-scale systems of benefit-cost ratios approximating zero. The…

Current work in mathematical modeling for manpower planning and personnel administration is reviewed with special reference to selected cases in the U.S. Navy. This included: (1) assignment models and their dynamic extensions, (2) Stochastic models with special reference to Markoff Processes, including the Office of Civilian Manpower and…

Response to a recent article in this journal by Ewald and Kiker. Provides a costing methodology based on a similar application of input-output theory but one that is completely general with regard to possible program interrelationships. (Author/JH)

This study develops an input-output model for making employment projections and applies it to the Oregon economy. Using published data and guided estimates, the study provides an approximation of the structure of the Oregon economy in 1963, as the first step in the systematic investigation of the State's economic and trade transactions. This…

Uses an example from educational planning (teacher supply) to show how the concepts of controlability and observability can add insight into the planning and decisionmaking process. (Author/JH)

Describes and provides a simulation of an input-output, goal-programing technique that uses efficiency criteria as prerequisites for state aid payments and provides for the sharing of managerial know-how between the state and local school districts. (Author/IRT)

Using data collected in a beginning teacher evaluation study, this paper attempts to show that time is an important input in producing learning. First the paper discusses equalization of tax bases in school districts, inequality in the distribution of inputs, and the importance of multiple outputs in schools. Next it describes an economic model of…

The problem of educational evaluation, the various types of evaluation, and the different kinds of models of evaluation systems are discussed in some detail. The educational needs of the students, staff, community, and the Philadelphia Title I schools, as agreed by members of the evaluation team, are listed. A taxonomy of Title I evaluation is…

Mathematical model building for educational planning in this country has been heavily influenced by the USOE DYNAMOD Model, a computerized Markov-type or input-output model. However, the input-output method is structurally inadequate to reflect the true behavior of the educational system. To introduce some elements of decision making into the…

This publication is a discussion of the concept of an educational production function, a mathematical formulation of the relationship between inputs and outputs in education. A description of how a production function can direct decision making toward economic efficiency precedes a theoretical discussion of the nature of actual estimation. Several…

In Dyer's Student Change Model, performance indicators (PIs) are utilized as a measure of the effectiveness of educational programs. These PIs are examined and analyzed in some detail in this paper. In particular, the reliability of the residuals, the sensitivity of the measure to sample size, the random half reliability, and the stability of the…