Statistics, econometrics, investment analysis, and data analysis classes often review the calculation of several types of averages, including the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, harmonic mean, and various weighted averages. This note shows how each of these can be computed using a basic regression framework. By recognizing when a regression model…

Scope and Method of Study. One of the major obstacles in Information Technology (IT) adoption is its return on investment analysis. IT benefits in organizations are hard to measure and are usually realized over time. System dynamics approach has been used in IT literature to identify the impact of IT on business processes. Given benefits of any IT…

A large and growing body of work exists on the subject of endowment investing, but the equally important topic of endowment spending is treated less often. While the degree to which endowed institutions depend on their endowment for budgetary support varies widely, the market crisis of 2008-09 demonstrated that failure by the endowment to provide…

In this article, the author talks about Portfolio Management, a concept used to make allocation decisions in the world of financial investments. While much has been written about Portfolio theory, and the term is widely used in the facilities management industry, little is really understood about the concept and its real-world application. The…

Female college students are generally thought to possess lower levels of financial market knowledge than their male counterparts. However, previous studies have lacked conceptual and methodological focus on market-based dimensions of financial literacy. We hypothesize that male and female college students respond differently to perceptions of…

Motivated by the large differences in labor market outcomes across college majors, we survey the literature on the demand for and return to high school and post-secondary education by field of study. We combine elements from several papers to provide a dynamic model of education and occupation choice that stresses the roles of specificity of human…

Scaling up good corporate social investment practices in developing countries is crucial to realizing the "Education for All" and "Millennium Development Goals". Yet very few corporate social investments have the right mix of vision, financing, cross-sector engagement and leadership to come to scale. Globally, 67 million…

Governments across the world are investing large amounts of money in scientific research, often with the belief that such investments will increase economic growth--yet the scientific evidence for this belief is, as Colin Macilwain notes, "patchy." Science agencies are charged with identifying and funding the best science, yet there is little…

In this article, I will argue that a theoretical identification of the limit to inclusion is needed in the conceptual identification of inclusion. On the one hand, inclusion is formulated as a vision that is, in principle, limitless. On the other hand, there seems to be an agreement that inclusion has a limit in the pedagogical practice. However,…

A movement is building that favors creating a national network of high-quality early education and care systems that begin at birth. It makes sense. Promoting positive early learning experiences, healthy caregivers, and a connection between families and community resources can reverse rising rates of expulsion, high school dropouts, and the need…

The financial calculator is incorporated in finance education. In class, the instructor shows students how to use the financial calculator's function keys to solve time value of money (TVM) related problems efficiently. The fundamental finance course is required for all majors in the business school. Some students, especially…

The federal government, through the Department of Education, distributed millions of dollars to state education departments as part of the American Recovery and Restoration Act (ARRA). Many districts applied for and received thousands of dollars in order to make improvements to schools and impact student achievement. Several districts purchased…

Educational equity is often discussed as a moral issue. Another way to think about equity is as a way to promote productivity and economic efficiency. Traditionally, equity and efficiency are viewed as competing goals. One can be fair in devising a policy, but often what is fair is not economically efficient. Conversely, what is efficient may not…

Recently, researchers have investigated differences in decision making based on description and experience. We address the issue of when experience-based judgments of probability are more accurate than are those based on description. If description is well understood ("transparent") and experience is misleading ("wicked"), it…

Billionaire philanthropists compare notes in private with their peers. Whether experienced philanthropists or first-time donors, they all want their gifts to make a difference, and they are hungry for knowledge about how to be effective donors. They want to be educated about philanthropy. Educational institutions are experts at making the case for…