The Economics of Education

(See also Academe Imitates the Corporation)

General Resources

Impact of Education on the Public's Pocket

Cost of Education

The Rewards of Education in the Workplace

Job, Salary, and Status Differentials

Skills

Productivity & Economic Development

The Economics of Educational Institutions

The Fiscal Crisis of Higher Education

Productivity / Workload of Educators

Assessment / Reward of Educators

The Controversy over Tenure

Growth / Downsizing in Administration

Employment / Labor Issues in Education

= More Info (see policy on "more info" links)

General Resources

• Howard R. Bowen, The Finance of Higher Education (Berkeley, CA: Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, 1968)
• K.S. Chalam, Finances, Costs and Productivity of Higher Education (New Delhi, India: Inter-India, 1986)
• E.A. Hanushek, "The Economics of Schooling," Journal of Economic Literature 24 (1986): 1141-77

Impact of Education on the Public's Pocket

Cost of Education

• Noam H. Arzt, The Business of Higher Education: The American University and Its Banking Function (New York: Garland, 1995)
• Charles T. Clotfelter, Buying the Best: Cost Escalation in Elite Higher Education (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1996)
• The Dearing Report (UK) (see Featured Controversy) (the most controversial feature of the Dearing report and its impact on higher education in the UK is the restructuring of financial support for students)
• Phyllis Franklin, "The Debate over College Costs," MLA Newsletter 29.3 (1997): 5-6
• Arthur M. Hauptman, with Jamie P. Merisotis, The College Tuition Spiral: An Examination of Why Charges Are Increasing, A Report to the College Board and the American Council on Education (Washington, D.C. / New York: American Council on Education and the College Board, 1990)
• D. Bruce Johnstone, The Costs of Higher Education: An Essay on the Comparative Financing of Universities (Buffalo, NY: Comparative Education Center, Graduate School of Education, State Univ. of New York at Buffalo, 1989)
• Los Angeles Times, "Lower Costs for Higher Education Urged," Jan. 22, 1998, p. A16 ("Urging colleges and universities to become more cost-efficient, [the National Commision on the Cost of Higher Education] said these institutions bear prime responsibility for putting a stop to the soaring costs of higher education")
• New Millenium Project ("multi-year study of higher education costs, pricing, and productivity") (Institute for Higher Education Policy)
• Martin Parker and Jude Courtney, "Universities or Nurseries? Education, Professionals and Taxpayers" ("Our central contention . . . is that we should allocate no more money to universities, and possibly think about spending a great deal less . . . because other forms of education - nursery education is our main example - are both more needy and more justifiable when public sector funding is limited") (Center for Social Theory and Technology, Keele U.)
• William Reiser, ed., Love of Learning, Desire for Justice: Undergraduate Education and the Option for the Poor (Scranton, PA: Univ. of Scranton Press, 1995)
• Michael Rogers Rubin and Mary Taylor Huber, with Elizabeth Lloyd Taylor, The Knowledge Industry in the United States, 1960-1980 (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1986), Ch. 4 on "Education"
• William Brand Simpson, Cost Containment for Higher Education: Strategies for Public Policy and Institutional Administration (New York: Praeger, 1991)
• Carol A. Twigg, "Is Technology a Silver Bullet?" (1996) (Educom Review)
• Leroy F. Searle, "Institutions and Intellectuals: A Modest Proposal," Profession 1996, pp. 15-25
• Student Financial Aid / Students Working During College
  • Lynn Olson, The School and Work Revolution: How Employers and Educators are Joining Forces to Prepare Tomorrow's Skilled Workers (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1997)
  • David Stern
    1. "Institutions and Incentives for Developing Work-Related Knowledge and Skill," in P. Adler (1992), pp. 149-86 (see esp. p. 161 on the rise in numbers of students working during college: "Economic explanations, such as the rising cost of college, do not seem to account for the trend. . . . The fact that most students now hold paid jobs during the school years can exacerbate problems of motivation and performance.")
    2. with Y.F. Nakata, "Paid Employment Among U.S. College Students: Trends, Effects, and Possible Causes," Journal of Higher Education 62 (1991): 25-43

The Rewards of Education in the Workplace

• Job, Salary, and Status Differentials
  • I. Berg, Education and Jobs: The Great Training Robbery (New York: Praeger, 1970)
  • Howard R. Bowen, Investment in Learning: The Individual and Social Value of American Higher Education (rpt.; Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1997)
  • John Brennan, et al., ed., Higher Education and Work (London / Bristol, PA: Jessica Kingsley, 1996) (on the link between education and work in Europe)
  • Phillip Brown and Richard Scase, Higher Education and Corporate Realities: Class, Culture and the Decline of Graduate Careers (London / Bristol, PA: UCL, 1994)
  • Randall Collins, The Credential Society: An Historical Sociology of Education and Stratification (New York: Academic, 1979)
  • The Dearing Report (UK) (see Featured Controversy) (the Dearing report bases its recommended restructuring of student financial support in the UK on the premise that those who in the long run gain the most from higher education -- i.e., students -- should pay more)
  • J. Mincer, Schooling, Experience, and Earnings (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1974)
  • Robert Reich, "Working Class Dogged" (1998) ("I wish I could be as optimistic as Walter Russell Mead about the future of today's nonsupervisory workers, but I can't. . . . Not everyone has to go to a four-year liberal arts university, but you need the tools. In order to do the new middle-class job, you need to know the rudiments, and that may entail something beyond high school") (Mother Jones Interactive)
• Skills
  • American Council on Education, Developing Tomorrow's Work Force (summaries of reports)
    1. "Higher Education and Work Readiness: The View from the Corporation"
    2. "Higher Education and Work Readiness: The View from the Campus"
    3. "Spanning the Chasm: Corporate and Academic Cooperation to Improve Work-Force Preparation"
  • A.P. Bartel and F.R. Lichtenberg, "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics 69, no. 1 (1987): 1-11
• Productivity & Economic Development
  • William E. Becker and Darrell R. Lewis, ed.
    1. The Economics of American Higher Education (Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1992)
    2. Higher Education and Economic Growth (Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1993)
  • E. Dean, ed., Education and Economic Productivity (Cambridge, MA: Ballinger, 1984)
  • The Higher-Education-Economic Development Connection: Emerging Roles for Public Colleges and Universities in a Changing Economy (Washington, D.C.: Amer. Assoc. of State Colleges & Universities, 1986)
  • Klaus Hufner, et al., Efficiency in Higher Education: An Annotated Bibliography (Frankfurt am Main / New York: Peter Lang, 1988)
  • D.W. Jorgenson, "The Contribution of Education to U.S. Economic Growth, 1948-73," in Dean (1984)
  • R.J. Murnane, "Education and the Productivity of the Workforce: Looking Ahead," in R.E. Litan et al., eds., American Living Standards: Threats and Challenges (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institute, 1988)

The Economics of Educational Institutions

The Fiscal Crisis of Higher Education

(See also Restructuring / Downsizing of Education)

• J.L. Azad, Higher Education in India: The Deepening Financial Crisis (New Delhi: Radiant, 1988)
• Howard R. Bowen, The Costs of Higher Education: How Much Do Colleges and Universities Spend Per Student and How Much Should They Spend? (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980)
• Business Week, "The New U.: A Tough Market is Reshaping Colleges," Dec. 22, 1997: 96-102
• Council for Aid to Education, Breaking the Social Contract: The Fiscal Crisis in Higher Education (New York: Council for Aid to Education, 1997)
• The Dearing Report (UK) (see Featured Controversy) (this report guiding the current restructuring of higher education in the UK diagnoses a "financial crisis" in higher education caused by the combination of expanding enrollment and declining public financial support)
• James R. Mingle and Associates, ed., Challenges of Retrenchment (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981)
• Kenneth P. Mortimer and Michael L. Tierney, "The Three 'R's' of the Eighties: Reduction, Reallocation and Retrenchment," AAHE-ERIC Higher Education Research Report #4, 1979 (Washington, D.C.: American Assoc. for Higher Education, 1979), pp. 34-35
• Alan Ryan (Oxford U.), "The American Way" (1999) ("The British university system is in a mess. To combine successfully mass higher education with elite excellence, it must follow the decentralised US model. It must introduce differentiated tuition fees, allow a mixture of public and private funding, and give up the pretence of uniform standards") (Prospect)

Productivity / Workload of Educators

• Stanley Aronowitz and William DiFazio, The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1994), Chap. 8, "A Taxonomy of Teacher Work"
• James S. Fairweather, Faculty Work and Public Trust: Restoring the Value of Teaching and Public Service in American Academic Life (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996)
• Robert C. Heterick, Jr. (Educom), "The Dreaded 'P' Word" (1995) (Educom Review)
• D. Bruce Johnstone (U. Buffalo / former Chancellor, SUNY), "Learning Productivity: A New Imperative for American Higher Education" (1992) (Studies in Public Higher Education / Educom)
• William F. Massy (Stanford U.) and Robert Zemsky (U. Penn.), "Using Information Technology to Enhance Academic Productivity" (1995) (Educom)
• MLA Commission on Professional Service, "Making Faculty Work Visible: Reinterpreting Professional Service, Teaching, and Research in the Fields of Language and Literature," Profession 1996, pp. 161-216
• New Millenium Project ("multi-year study of higher education costs, pricing, and productivity") (Institute for Higher Education Policy)
• John Sperling and Robert W. Tucker, For-Profit Higher Education: Developing a World-Class Workforce (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 1997)
• Carol A. Twigg (SUNY Empire State C), "Improving Productivity in Higher Education - The Need for a Paradigm Shift" (1992) (Cause/Effect)
• Jon F. Wergin, ed., Analyzing Faculty Workload (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994)
• Samuel R. Williamson (U. of the South), "When Change is the Only Constant: Liberal Education in the Age of Technology" (1996) (Educom Review)

Assessment / Reward of Educators

• "ADE Statement of Good Practice: Teaching, Evaluation, and Scholarship," ADE Bulletin 113 (1996): 53-55
• Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education (journal; only tables of content are online)
• Howard R. Bowen, Academic Compensation: Are Faculty and Staff in American Higher Education Adequately Paid? (New York: Teachers Insurance and Annuity Assoc., College Retirement Equities Fund, 1978)
• Larry A. Braskamp and John C. Ory, Assessing Faculty Work: Enhancing Individual and Institutional Performance (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994)
• Michael J. Bugeja, Academic Socialism: Merit and Morale in Higher Education (Washington, D.C.: Orchises, 1994)
• Robert M. Diamond and Bronwyn E. Adam, ed.
  • , The Disciplines Speak: Rewarding the Scholarly, Professional, and Creative Work of Faculty (Washington, D.C.: American Assoc. for Higher Education, 1995)
  • Sandra E. Elman and Sue M. Smock, Professional Service and Faculty Rewards: Toward an Integrated Structure (Washington, D.C.: National Assoc. of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 1985)
  • Recognizing Faculty Work: Reward Systems for the Year 2000 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993)
• Modern Language Association
  1. MLA Commission on Professional Service, "Making Faculty Work Visible: Reinterpreting Professional Service, Teaching, and Research in the Fields of Language and Literature," Profession 1996, pp. 161-216
  2. MLA Committee on Computers and Emerging Technologies in Teaching and Research, "Guidelines for Evaluating Computer-Related Work in the Modern Languages," Profession 1996, pp. 217-19

The Controversy over Tenure

• Chronicle of Higher Education: Resources on Tenure, Unionization, and the Academic Job Market (requires subscription)
• Louis Lataif (Boston U.), "Opinion -- A Realistic Alternative to Traditional Tenure," Chronicle of Higher Education, June 26, 1998: B6 (online version for subscribers only)
• Faculty Tenure (annotated bibliography of ERIC articles on tenure) (ERIC)

Growth / Downsizing in Administration

• Academe, "Administrators Salaries Outstrip Inflation," 82 (1996)
• Barbara Bergmann, "Bloated Administration, Blighted Campuses," Academe 77 (1991): 12-16

Employment / Labor Issues in Education

• General Resources
  • American Federation of Teachers -- AFL-CIO | AFT Higher Education Page
    1. Selected Higher Education Resources
    2. AFT Recommendations for the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act August, 1997
    3. The Truth About Tenure in Higher Education
    4. AFT Statement on Part-Time Faculty Employment
    5. Teaming Up with Technology: How Unions Can Harness the Technology Revolution on Campus (two downloadable files in Word for Windows or Adobe Acrobate formats)
    6. Local Faculty and Teaching Assistant Unions/Associations
  • Stanley Aronowitz
    1. and William DiFazio, The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1994), Chap. 8, "A Taxonomy of Teacher Work" (this chapter is a brutally honest and detailed survey of the occupational structure and conditions of work in higher education; particularly attentive to the difference between the several tiers of higher-education institutions in the U.S.)
    2. Andrew Long, with Tara McGann, "Jobless Higher Ed: An Interview with Stanley Aronowitz" 91998) (Workplace)
  • J. Victor Baldridge, Assessing the Impact of Faculty Collective Bargaining (Washington, D.C.: American Assoc. for Higher Education, 1981)
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
    1. Tomorrow's Jobs (general forecast for 1994-2005)
    2. Occupational Outlook Handbook (detailed description of what various jobs involve and forecasts for employment opportunities through 2005)
       • Selected Links:
       • College and University Faculty
       • Teachers, Librarians, and Counselors
       • Writers and Editors
  • Chronicle of Higher Education: Resources on Tenure, Unionization, and the Academic Job Market (requires subscription)
  • Nona Fienberg, "'The Most of It': Hiring at a Nonelite College," Profession 1996, pp. 73-78
  • John Guillory, "Preprofessionalism: What Graduate Students Want," Profession 1996, pp. 91-99 (argues that the current "preprofessionalism" of literature graduate students under the gun of the sparse job market--as attested by the perceived need to publish and give papers--is an extreme form of the "phantasmic" desires of the literature profession generally, caught as it is in the paradox between its long-term decline in social centrality and its imitation/internalization of mainstream organizational and productivity norms; also links the present hyper-politicization of literary studies to its social marginality)
  • Mark A. Johnson, "Professions Beyond the Academy," Profession 1996, pp. 60-68
  • Mark D. Johnson and Kenneth P. Mortimer, Faculty Bargaining and the Politics of Retrenchment in the Pennsylvania State Colleges, 1971-1976 (University Park, PA: Center for the Study of Higher Education, 1977), pp. 47-68
  • Lori G. Kletzer, "Young and Highly Educated in the 1990s: Job Prospects in the Professional Labor Market," Profession 1995 (New York: MLA, 1995), pp. 51-55
  • Paul Lauter (Trinity C., Conn.), "Unionizing Against Cutbacks" (1998) (Workplace)
  • Modern Language Association
    • Profession 1996 (New York: MLA, 1996) (esp. the section on "Confronting the Current Job Market")
    • Report of the MLA Committee on Professional Employment (New York: MLA, 1997)
  • National Academy of Sciences, A Century of Doctorates: Data Analyses of Growth and Change (Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1978)
  • Cary Nelson (U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
    1. Manifesto of a Tenured Radical (New York and London: New York Univ. Press, 1997)
    2. ed., Will Teach for Food: American Labor in Crisis (Minneapolis, MN: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1997)
    3. "What Hath English Wrought: The Corporate University's Fast Food Discipline" (1998) (Workplace)
  • "Should Distance Learning be Rationed? Point/Counterpoint with Larry Gold & James R. Mingle" (1996) ("The recent American Federation of Teachers report on How Unions Can Harness the Technology Revolution on Campus issued several recommendations on how to improve technology decision-making and use at U.S. institutions of higher education") (Educom Review)
  • Workplace: The Journal for Academic Labor (Graduate Student Caucus)
• The Part-Time Labor Crisis (see also "Flex-Timing": Part-Time, Temp, Flexible Labor on Postindustrial Business Principles page)
  • American Assoc. of University Professors (AAUP), "Report on the Status of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty," in Policy Documents and Reports (Washington, D.C.: AAUP, 1995)
  • Stanley Aronowitz and William DiFazio, The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1994), Chap. 8, "A Taxonomy of Teacher Work," esp. pp. 255 ff. on adjunct academic positions (this chapter is a brutally honest and detailed survey of the occupational structure and conditions of work in higher education; particularly attentive to the difference between the several tiers of higher-education institutions in the U.S.)
  • Cary Nelson (U. Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
    1. Manifesto of a Tenured Radical (New York and London: New York Univ. Press, 1997), Chap. 10, "Late Capitalism Arrives on Campus: The Corporate University's Expendable Employees"
    2. "What Hath English Wrought: The Corporate University's Fast Food Discipline" (1998) (Workplace), esp. the section on "Our Hands Are Dirty," paragraphs 29 ff.
  • Linda Ray Pratt, "Disposable Faculty: Part-Time Exploitation as Management Strategy," in Nelson, ed., Will Teach for Food (1997), pp. 264-77
  • Perry Robinson, Part-Time Faculty Issues (Washington, D.C.: American Federation of Teachers, 1994)
  • Karen Thompson, "Alchemy in the Academy: Moving Part-Time Faculty from Piecework to Parity," in Nelson, ed., Will Teach for Food (1997), pp. 278-90