Genetic ability and intergenerational earnings mobility

Intergenerational correlations, Earnings, Wages, H50, I30, J62,

Giving to family versus giving to the community within and across generations

Family transfers, Community institutions, Role model effect, O12, J13, D10,

Premises, promises, and perils of the Academic Potemkin Village

Increased competition for students and financial resources has contributed to a managerialist perspective in higher education. In this competitive landscape, institutional decision-making may prioritize choices perceived as rational imperatives to the forces buffeting higher education, bringing unintended consequences when they are driven mostly by short-term, marketing-based, revenue-enhancing considerations. In their efforts to “look good,” such institutions risk becoming Academic Potemkin Villages where symbolic façades are erected to impress relevant stakeholders at the risk of overshadowing core missions of learning and research. Exploring the Academic Potemkin Village metaphor, we examine its premises (factors that are pressuring higher education), its promises (the seduction of building various symbolic façades to respond to those pressures), and its perils (the impact on institutions, faculty, and students). We then suggest ways of building out Academic Potemkin Villages into lasting and unique collaborations, re-focused on the core values of higher education

Higher Education and Equality of Opportunity: A Review of Findings and Data Sets

Amartya Sen (1992), in the prologue of his well appreciated book “Inequality Reexamined,” sets forth the most fundamental question in the study of inequality: “equality of what?” Irrespectively of someone’s ideological predispositions, we can expect that most people will condemn inequality on the grounds of unfairness. Yet, trying to figure out the “proper” concept of inequality is far more elusive

Poverty and Patriotism in America

Researchers in the social sciences and humanities have devoted considerable attention to the concept of patriotism. This volume attests to that. The resulting scholarship is rich in analytical variety, geographical and historical dimensions, and connections to other substantives points of interest. Yet, despite all this, one particular – and consequential – aspect of patriotism remains still largely understudied: its relationship to class. How does class affect the nature and level of patriotism? This chapter considers this question in light of the very high levels of patriotism among America’s poorest citizens. First, it documents those levels in absolute and comparative terms, while in parallel pointing out that there are good reasons to expect those levels to be much lower. Second, it reflects on why such patriotism matters. Third, it develops possible explanations for those high levels of patriotism based on existing literatures on American patriotism in general, marginalized groups, and social cohesion. Fourth, it considers the findings of a research project recently conducted on the issue. Finally, it concludes with a summary and reflections on future directions