Essays in Applied Microeconomics: Dissertation Summary

In the United States, like many developed countries, government provides substantial support for primary, secondary, and postsecondary education. In 2011, expenditures on education are expected to equal 7.6 percent of GDP (National Center for Education Statistics 2011). At the postsecondary level, federal grants and loans for college students aim to ameliorate credit market imperfections. Publicly provided K–12 education insures universal access to human capital development for all children. The three essays that make up this dissertation broadly focus on the role government should play in financing and providing education

Welfare Time Limits: An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families

One of the most controversial features of the 1990s welfare reforms was the imposition of time limits on benefit receipt. This comprehensive review, written by The Lewin Group and MDRC, includes analyses of administrative data reported by states to the federal government, visits to several states, and a literature review

Group Incentives for Teachers

In current debates regarding the future of education, teacher compensation schemes are often criticized for their lack of performance-based pay. Proponents of merit pay for teachers argue that tying teacher salaries to student achievement will induce teachers to focus on the success of their students and stimulate innovation in the school system as a whole. In this paper, we use a randomized policy experiment conducted in the New York City public school system to explore the effects of one group-based pay scheme. We investigate potential impacts of incentive pay over two academic years (2007-2008 and 2008-2009) on student performance on annual math and reading exams, teacher absences, and responses to environmental surveys of teachers and students. We also consider whether the program had differential outcomes on groups within schools that were especially likely to be targeted, given the particular incentive structure of the program. Last, we explore relative impacts on the market for teachers by examining end-of-year teacher turnover and the quality composition of newly hired teachers. In general, we find no significant effects of this program. However, there is some evidence that the program reduced teacher absenteeism in schools with a small number of teachers, and that these effects were weakened in larger schools by the presence of free-riding

Foraging and Song rate of Prothonotary Warblers in High and Low Density Breeding Sites

Foraging observations can be used as an indicator of habitat quality and food availability. Previous studies with song rate have had conflicting results. Song rate increases with abundance (male-­‐male interac=ons) (Warren et. al 2013) and with high quality habitats (Stehelin and Lein 2013). Unmated males sing twice as often as mated males (Robins et. al 2009), expected in poor quality habitats. Few studies have assessed foraging and song rate behaviors in high and low density systems. Prothonotary Warblers (PROW) are excellent study species because they nest in boxes and we can manipulate density. The objective of this study was to compare PROW foraging and song rate at a high density breeding site along the Lower James River with ar=ficial nest boxes (Deep BoYom Park) to observa=ons from a lower density site in beaver wetlands and without nest boxes (Fort AP Hill)

Leaf Length Variation in Perennial Forage Grasses

Leaf length is a key factor in the economic value of different grass species and cultivars in forage production. It is also important for the survival of individual plants within a sward. The objective of this paper is to discuss the basis of within-species variation in leaf length. Selection for leaf length has been highly efficient, with moderate to high narrow sense heritability. Nevertheless, the genetic regulation of leaf length is complex because it involves many genes with small individual effects. This could explain the low stability of QTL found in different studies. Leaf length has a strong response to environmental conditions. However, when significant genotype × environment interactionshave been identified, their effects have been smaller than the main effects. Recent modelling-based research suggests that many of the reported environmental effects on leaf length and genotype × environment interactions could be biased. Indeed, it has been shown that leaf length is an emergent property strongly affected by the architectural state of the plant during significant periods prior to leaf emergence. This approach could lead to improved understanding of the factors affecting leaf length, as well as better estimates of the main genetic effects

Short Run Impacts of Accountability on School Quality

In November of 2007, the New York City Department of Education assigned elementary and middle schools a letter grade (A to F) under a new accountability system. Grades were based on numeric scores derived from student achievement and other school environmental factors such as attendance, and were linked to a system of rewards and consequences. We use the discontinuities in the assignment of grades to estimate the impact of accountability in the short run. Specifically, we examine student achievement in English Language Arts and mathematics (measured in January and March of 2008, respectively) using school level aggregate data. Although schools had only a few months to respond to the release of accountability grades, we find that receipt of a low grade significantly increased student achievement in both subjects, with larger effects in math. We find no evidence that these grades were related to the percentage of students tested, implying that accountability can cause real changes in school quality that increase student achievement over a short time horizon. We also find that parental evaluations of educational quality improved for schools receiving low accountability grades. However, changes in survey response rates hold open the possibility of selection bias in these complementary results.

Essays in Applied Microeconomics

This dissertation broadly focuses on the role government should play in providing and financing education. The first chapter estimates the economic incidence of need-based student aid, one tool intended to ameliorate credit constraints in the market for higher education. The second chapter examines whether government programs providing support to low-income families should explicitly support or deny access to higher education by analyzing the impact of college attendance on the labor market outcomes of current and former welfare recipients. Chapter 3 focuses on publicly provided education at the primary and secondary levels, and estimates the impact of a teacher incentive pay program on student achievement

ProPelled: The Effects of Grants on Graduation, Earnings, and Welfare

We estimate the effect of grant aid on poor college students’ attainment and earnings using student-level administrative data from four-year public colleges in Texas. To identify these effects, we exploit a discontinuity in grant generosity as a function of family income. Eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant significantly increases degree receipt and earnings beginning four years after entry. Within 10 years, imputed taxes on eligible students’ earnings gains fully recoup total government expenditures generated by initial eligibility. To clarify how these estimates relate to social welfare, we develop a general theoretical model and derive sufficient statistics for the welfare implications of changes in the price of college. Whether additional grant aid increases welfare depends on (1) net externalities from recipients’ behavioral responses and (2) a direct effect of mitigating credit constraints or other frictions that inflate students’ in-school marginal utility. Calibrating our model using nationally representative consumption data suggests that increasing grant aid for the average college student by $1 could generate negative externalities as high as$0.50 and still improve welfare. Applying our welfare formula and estimated direct effects to our setting and others suggests considerable welfare gains from grants that target low-income students

Can nurses rise to the public health challenge? How a novel solution in nurse education can address this contemporary question.

This paper raises the problem of how improvements in health outcomes, a key component in many governments' strategies, can be achieved. The work highlights a novel undergraduate educational approach which offers solutions to public health challenges within nursing. Against the backdrop of one UK university institution it discusses approaches that can guide nursing students towards a deeper understanding and engagement within the principles of public health. It then proposes how nurses can use their learning to become leaders of health improvement

Adaptations to iron deficiency: cardiac functional responsiveness to norepinephrine, arterial remodeling, and the effect of beta-blockade on cardiac hypertrophy.

BackgroundIron deficiency (ID) results in ventricular hypertrophy, believed to involve sympathetic stimulation. We hypothesized that with ID 1) intravenous norepinephrine would alter heart rate (HR) and contractility, 2) abdominal aorta would be larger and more distensible, and 3) the beta-blocker propanolol would reduce hypertrophy.Methods1) 30 CD rats were fed an ID or replete diet for 1 week or 1 month. Norepinephrine was infused via jugular vein; pressure was monitored at carotid artery. Saline infusions were used as a control. The pressure trace was analyzed for HR, contractility, systolic and diastolic pressures. 2) Abdominal aorta catheters inflated the aorta, while digital microscopic images were recorded at stepwise pressures to measure arterial diameter and distensibility. 3) An additional 10 rats (5 ID, 5 control) were given a daily injection of propanolol or saline. After 1 month, the hearts were excised and weighed.ResultsEnhanced contractility, but not HR, was associated with ID hypertrophic hearts. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were consistent with an increase in arterial diameter associated with ID. Aortic diameter at 100 mmHg and distensibility were increased with ID. Propanolol was associated with an increase in heart to body mass ratio.ConclusionsID cardiac hypertrophy results in an increased inotropic, but not chronotropic response to the sympathetic neurotransmitter, norepinephrine. Increased aortic diameter is consistent with a flow-dependent vascular remodeling; increased distensibility may reflect decreased vascular collagen content. The failure of propanolol to prevent hypertrophy suggests that ID hypertrophy is not mediated via beta-adrenergic neurotransmission