Education in general and specific educational projects fit into the construct of the allocation of investment resources that is basic to economic theory. Two techniques of computing returns to education and education projects are benefit-cost ratios and rates of return, which both rely on measuring costs and benefits. While measuring costs is…

The purpose of cost-benefit analysis is to provide a guide for rational resource allocation by assessing the future benefits of an investment against the costs incurred in the present. For educational planners, this type of analysis is made difficult by the noneconomic costs and benefits in education and also by the extensive time-lag that exists…

Explains economists' general approach to family behavior and describes how that framework is useful for thinking about families and children. Outlines how economists model parental investment in children. Examines the implications of approach for developmental science. Illustrates this approach using the example of the involvement of children and…

THE PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF EDUCATION AS AN ECONOMIC GOOD ARE EXAMINED. THE LITERATURE ON THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF EDUCATION, THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO EDUCATIONAL PLANNING, AND THE MATHEMATICAL MODELS PROPOSED FOR THIS PURPOSE ARE ANALYZED. THESE APPROACHES ARE SYNTHESIZED TO OBTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE ESTIMATE OF THE DEMAND FOR EDUCATION. THE…

Describes a classroom exercise designed to illustrate the economic aspects of common ownership, individual ownership, government regulation and to examine how these relate to conservation. The exercise involves the incremental distribution (via a turkey baster) of water between buckets marked "now" and "future." Different rules replicate different…