The No Child Left Behind law mandated the institution of adequate yearly progress (AYP) objectives, on which schools are assigned a pass or fail. Fail status is associated with negative publicity and often sanctions. In this paper, I study the incentives and responses of schools that failed AYP...

Tuition and student debt have skyrocketed, but higher education still pays off.

Despite a large and growing earnings premium for college graduates, growth in college enrollment and especially college attainment in the United States has been quite slow. The labor market's apparent lack of responsiveness to the earnings premium may be driven in part by the risks that...

It has become almost hackneyed to suggest that we now live in a knowledgebased economy. Firms prosper and die based on their ability to add intellectual value to their products and services. Even in mature industries, such as manufacturing, the application of knowledge to enhance production...

The benefits of a college diploma are many, including higher pay, lower unemployment, maybe even better health. Yet many high school graduates still do not pursue a college degree. This article examines several key reasons why more people aren’t making this investment in themselves.

In measuring the returns to education, economists usually focus on the number of years of schooling. But many people would say that the quality of schooling matters, too, even at the high school level. Does the type of high school attended make a difference in future income?

The good news: tribal colleges help develop Indian economies and cultures. The bad news: they face a chronic funding crisis.