Preliminary + Intro Flashcards
1
Q
Explain how economics can inform education policy?
A
- Economics: how scarce resources are allocated to satisfy demands
- Education: process of training and developing knowledge, skill, character, etc.
- Opportunity Cost: what is given up for each choice made
- Budget Constraint: Trade-Offs b/w inputs
- Diminishing Returns
- Production Possibilities Frontier: resource allocated with finite resources
- Incentives
2
Q
Explain why the following questions are important in the economics of education:
- What should be produced?
- How should it be produced?
- For whom should it be produced?
A
- This is important because these questions will be the foundation driving education policies.
a. Total Resource Policies:
increase the total amount of funding
b. Input-Based Policies
Target at specific inputs to the education process
c. Output-Based Policies
alter incentives schools, teachers, and students face to promote specific outcomes…
3
Q
Distinguish between a traditional competitive market and an education market?
A
- Traditional Competitive market is one with many buyers and sellers each selling identical products, while no one has power of price b/c each is “price-taker”…
- Price is determined by Supply & Demand.
- Competitive Market Equilibrium is the most efficient outcome for society. - Education market:
not perfectly competitive b/c barriers to entry & exit
- externalities exists (outside influence and outside effects)
- Differentiated Goods
- Supply of education service mostly local
- Subject to asymmetry or inconsistency in distribution or retention
- peer effects
- customer input technology
4
Q
Experimental Research Design VS. Quasi-Experimental Research Design
A
- In a true experiment, participants are randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group, whereas they are not assigned randomly in a quasi-experiment
- Quasi-Experiments address internal validity because the treatment and control groups may not be comparable at baseline. With random assignment, study participants have the same chance of being assigned to the intervention group or the comparison group.
5
Q
Comment on the internal and external validity of a research study
A
- External validity is the validity of generalized (causal) inferences in scientific research, usually based on experiments as experimental validity. In other words, it is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people.
- Internal validity refers to how well an experiment is done, especially whether it avoids confounding (more than one possible independent variable [cause] acting at the same time). The less chance for confounding in a study, the higher its internal validity is.
6
Q
Why do we use the budget constraint?
A
- Budget Constraint is used to demonstrate practicality because in reality there are limitations in the resources
7
Q
Budget Constraint VS. PPF
A
- Budget Constraint is a straight line b/c slope is relative price of 2 goods…
- PPF: curved slope b/c Law of Diminishing Returns
8
Q
Demand Curve Shifters
A
- # of Buyers
- Income
- Substitute
- Complements
- Tastes
- Expectations
9
Q
Supply Curve Shifters
A
- Input Prices
- Tech
- # of Sellers
- Expectations
10
Q
Identify & explain characteristics of perfectly competitive market
A
- In competitive markets, firms are ‘price takers’ => determined by Supply & Demand
- competitive market equilibrium is most efficient outcome for society
11
Q
Identify & describe characteristics of an education market
A
- not perfectly competitive b/c barriers to entry and exit
- externalities exists (outside influence or outside effect)
- Differentiated goods
- supply to education is local
- subject to asymmetries
- peer effects
- customer input technology
12
Q
Describe how the “producers” of education services differ from each other (e.g. public, private, etc.)
A
- Private Not-for-Profit
- Private For-Profit
- Non-Profit
- not perfectly competitive b/c barriers to entry and exit
- externalities exists (outside influence or outside effect)
- Differentiated goods
- supply to education is local
- subject to asymmetries
- peer effects
- customer input technology
13
Q
Understand how government impacts and/or intervenes education markets
A
- Provide Education Services directly
- Legislature & Judiciary: rules and regulations
- Public Funding & subsidies
14
Q
Correlation VS. Causation
A
- Correlation: seemingly constant relationship; but not able to automatically assume
- Causation: an event occurring as a result of another event…
15
Q
Problems with randomized controlled trials
A
realism; validity; code, ethics, feasibility
