期刊-NBER美国国民经济研究局-winter2003_72页_666kb

NBER Reporter Summary: Winter 2002/2003

Core Content

The NBER Reporter for Winter 2002/2003 highlights the Economics of Education Program and its contributions to education research. It outlines recent developments in K-12 and higher education policies, the role of teachers and peer effects, and the impact of technology and school finance reforms on educational outcomes. The report also features summaries of research on new drugs and their health and economic impacts.

Main Themes and Key Points

1. Economics of Education Program Overview

• Launched in September 2001, the program is designed to foster progress and rigor in education research by integrating multiple economic fields.
• Members come from labor economics, public economics, macroeconomics, industrial organization, development economics, and urban economics.
• The program has generated two volumes of research: The Economics of School Choice and College Decisions: New Economic Research on Higher Education.
• Over 60 Working Papers have been published in the first year, with a focus on empirical analysis.

2. K-12 Policy Developments

• School Choice Movement: Drives research into incentives, market structure, and public financing. The Zelman v. Simmons-Harris decision has spurred new reforms.
• Intradistrict Choice: Leads to the loss of education-oriented families and parts of the tax base.
• Accountability Systems: Implemented in 49 states during the 1990s, with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act in 2002 standardizing these systems.
• School Finance Reforms: Influence economic growth and income inequality. Interactions with property tax limitations are significant.
• Peer Effects: Play a crucial role in education research. Their form, especially non-linearities, is important but still not well understood.

3. College Policy Developments

• Merit Scholarships: States are shifting from need-based aid to merit-based aid, particularly in the South, Southwest, and Rust Belt.
• Impact on Enrollment: Merit scholarships increase attendance at public universities but have limited effects on overall enrollment.
• Federal Tuition Tax Credits: The largest federal education program, with limited impact on enrollment but significant influence on college choice.
• College Savings Programs: Coverdell accounts, 529 plans, and pre-paid plans are helping students save for college, though their effects vary in flexibility and reach.

4. Teachers and Their Impact

• Teacher effectiveness is being better assessed due to new data.
• Teacher quality has declined in the U.S., according to recent studies.
• Teachers often choose locations based on convenience and student demographics, not pay.
• Incentives, such as monetary rewards, can improve teacher performance, as shown in an Israeli experiment.

5. Education Expansion in Developing Countries

• Universal primary education is a common goal, but expansion can lead to inefficiencies.
• Indonesia's experience shows that aggressive school building increases enrollment but may reduce returns to education when more educated cohorts enter the labor market.
• School resources, even modest ones, can significantly increase enrollment in developing countries.

6. Technology in Education

• Technology is a new input in education, studied in various forms (computers, internet subsidies, flip-charts).
• Evidence suggests weak effects of technology on student achievement.
• As technology spreads, more data and analysis will be available.

Research on New Drugs

1. Health and Economic Impacts

• Frank R. Lichtenberg examines the effects of new drugs on longevity, activity limitations, and medical costs.
• New drugs are associated with increased life expectancy and reduced limitations on work and other activities.
• The social rate of return on pharmaceutical R&D is estimated at 18%.

2. Longevity Impact

• New drug approvals correlate with increased life expectancy.
• The average new drug approval increases life expectancy by about 0.016 years (5.8 days).
• Total life-years gained from a new drug approval are estimated at 1.2 million.

3. Cost per Life-Year

• The cost to bring a new drug to market is about $500 million.
• Cost per life-year gained is approximately $424.
• This is a small fraction of the economic value of a life year, estimated at $150,000.

4. Priority-Review Drugs

• These drugs, which offer significant improvements in treatment, have a more substantial impact on longevity.
• They increase the mean age at death by about 0.39 years (4.7 months) during 1979-98.
• They also reduce the probability of dying before age 65.

5. Activity Limitations

• New drugs reduce missed work-days and activity restrictions.
• The estimated value to employers exceeds the increase in drug costs.
• The rate of technical progress in pharmaceuticals with respect to activity limitations is about 18% per year.

Conclusion

• Education research is a growing area in economics due to its relevance to economic growth and income inequality.
• The Economics of Education Program is fostering interdisciplinary research and policy analysis.
• Ongoing developments in policy and data availability are enhancing the field's understanding of educational outcomes.