Educational opportunity and the college premium

Since World War II, the United States government has made improved accessto higher education a priority. This e¤ort has substantially increasedthe number of people who complete college. We show that by reducing theeffective interest rate on borrowing for education, such policies canactually increase the gap in wages between those with a college educationand those without. The mechanism that drives our results is the signaling role of education first explored by Spence (1973). We argue that financialconstraints on education reduce the value of education as a signal. Wesolve for the reduced form relationship between the interest rate and thewage premium in the steady state of a dynamic asymmetric information model.In addition, we discuss evidence of decreases in borrowing costs for educationfinancing in the U.S.

The impact of women's educational and economic resources on fertility. Spanish birth cohorts 1901-1950

In this chapter we portray the effects of female education and professional achievementon fertility decline in Spain over the period 1920-1980 (birth cohorts of 1900-1950).A longitudinal econometric approach is used to test the hypothesis that the effectsof women s education in the revaluing of their time had a very significant influence onfertility decline. Although in the historical context presented here improvements inschooling were on a modest scale, they were continuous (with the interruption of theCivil War) and had a significant impact in shaping a model of low fertility in Spain. Wealso stress the relevance of this result in a context such as the Spanish for which liberalvalues were absent, fertility control practices were forbidden, and labour forceparticipation of women was politically and socially constrained.

Characterization and Application of Educational Virtual Environments for Science Teaching in Secondary School

This work describes the characteristics of a representative set of seven different virtual laboratories (VLs) aimed for science teaching in secondary school. For this purpose, a 27-item evaluation model that facilitates the characterization of the VLs was prepared. The model takes into account the gaming features, the overall usability, and also the potential to induce scientific literacy. Five of the seven VLs were then tested with two larger and highly heterogenic groups of students, and in two different contexts – biotechnology and physics, respectively. It is described how the VLs were received by the students, taking into account both their motivation and their self-reported learning outcome. In some cases, students’ approach to work with the VLs was recorded digitally, and analyzed qualitatively. In general, the students enjoyed the VL activities, and claimed that they learned from them. Yet, more investigation is required to address the effectiveness of these tools for significant learning.

Evaluating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Spain

[cat] Diversos arguments derivats de la teoria del federalisme fiscal suggereixen que la descentralització pot portar a majors nivells d’eficiència en la provisió de béns i serveis publics. L’objectiu d’aquest estudi és contrastar aquesta hipòtesi mitjançant l’avaluació dels efectes de la descentralització sobre els resultats educatius a Espanya. Els resultats educatius es mesuren d’acord amb la taxa de supervivència, que es defineix com el nombre d’estudiants que es matricula en educació secundària no obligatòria en relació als alumnes matriculats a l’últim curs d’educació obligatòria durant l’any acadèmic anterior.

Educational expansion, intergenerational mobility and over-education

[eng] There is a vast literature on intergenerational mobility in sociology and economics. Similar interest has emerged for the phenomenon of over-education in both disciplines. There are no studies, however, linking these two research lines. We study the relationship between social mobility and over-education in a context of educational expansion. Our framework allows for the evaluation of several policies, including those affecting social segregation, early intervention programs and the power of unions. Results show the evolution of social mobility, over-education, income inequality and equality of opportunity under each scenario.

Educational attainment and timing of fertility decisions

This paper focuses on timing of fertility decisions, conditional on the level of educational attainment of parents. Timing of fertility and educational attainment of parents rationalize the negative relationship observed in the data between hourly wages and childbearing. It is shown how the recent evolution in total fertility rates observed in developed countries could be in part the result of a transition from an early childbearing regime to a late childbearing regime. I develop a general equilibrium overlapping generations model in order to understand the joint determination of timing of childbearing decisions together with other household economic decisions in a life cycle framework. I show how idiosyncratic uncertainty might have asymmetric efects on completed fertility depending on timing of childbearing, generating the diferences in completed fertility observed between households that difer in their level of educational attainment.

Evaluating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Spain

[cat] Diversos arguments derivats de la teoria del federalisme fiscal suggereixen que la descentralització pot portar a majors nivells d’eficiència en la provisió de béns i serveis publics. L’objectiu d’aquest estudi és contrastar aquesta hipòtesi mitjançant l’avaluació dels efectes de la descentralització sobre els resultats educatius a Espanya. Els resultats educatius es mesuren d’acord amb la taxa de supervivència, que es defineix com el nombre d’estudiants que es matricula en educació secundària no obligatòria en relació als alumnes matriculats a l’últim curs d’educació obligatòria durant l’any acadèmic anterior.

Coarsening of solid-liquid mixtures in a random acceleration field

The effects of flow induced by a random acceleration field (g-jitter) are considered in two related situations that are of interest for microgravity fluid experiments: the random motion of isolated buoyant particles, and diffusion driven coarsening of a solid-liquid mixture. We start by analyzing in detail actual accelerometer data gathered during a recent microgravity mission, and obtain the values of the parameters defining a previously introduced stochastic model of this acceleration field. The diffusive motion of a single solid particle suspended in an incompressible fluid that is subjected to such random accelerations is considered, and mean squared velocities and effective diffusion coefficients are explicitly given. We next study the flow induced by an ensemble of such particles, and show the existence of a hydrodynamically induced attraction between pairs of particles at distances large compared with their radii, and repulsion at short distances. Finally, a mean field analysis is used to estimate the effect of g-jitter on diffusion controlled coarsening of a solid-liquid mixture. Corrections to classical coarsening rates due to the induced fluid motion are calculated, and estimates are given for coarsening of Sn-rich particles in a Sn-Pb eutectic fluid, an experiment to be conducted in microgravity in the near future.

Design of Optical Systems With Extended Depth of Field: an Educational Approach to Wavefront Coding Techniques

A practical activity designed to introduce wavefront coding techniques as a method to extend the depth of field in optical systems is presented. The activity is suitable for advanced undergraduate students since it combines different topics in optical engineering such as optical system design, aberration theory, Fourier optics, and digital image processing. This paper provides the theoretical background and technical information for performing the experiment. The proposed activity requires students able to develop a wide range of skills since they are expected to deal with optical components, including spatial light modulators, and develop scripts to perform some calculations.

Giant acceleration of free diffusion by use of titled periodic potentials

The effective diffusion coefficient for the overdamped Brownian motion in a tilted periodic potential is calculated in closed analytical form. Universality classes and scaling properties for weak thermal noise are identified near the threshold tilt where deterministic running solutions set in. In this regime the diffusion may be greatly enhanced, as compared to free thermal diffusion with, for a realistic experimental setup, an enhancement of up to 14 orders of magnitude.

Educational expansion, intergenerational mobility and over-education

[eng] There is a vast literature on intergenerational mobility in sociology and economics. Similar interest has emerged for the phenomenon of over-education in both disciplines. There are no studies, however, linking these two research lines. We study the relationship between social mobility and over-education in a context of educational expansion. Our framework allows for the evaluation of several policies, including those affecting social segregation, early intervention programs and the power of unions. Results show the evolution of social mobility, over-education, income inequality and equality of opportunity under each scenario.

Educational attainment and timing of fertility decisions

This paper focuses on timing of fertility decisions, conditional on the level of educational attainment of parents. Timing of fertility and educational attainment of parents rationalize the negative relationship observed in the data between hourly wages and childbearing. It is shown how the recent evolution in total fertility rates observed in developed countries could be in part the result of a transition from an early childbearing regime to a late childbearing regime. I develop a general equilibrium overlapping generations model in order to understand the joint determination of timing of childbearing decisions together with other household economic decisions in a life cycle framework. I show how idiosyncratic uncertainty might have asymmetric efects on completed fertility depending on timing of childbearing, generating the diferences in completed fertility observed between households that difer in their level of educational attainment.

Rethinking educational ethnography. Researching online communities and interactions

[eng] Proceedings for the 2nd annual conference: Rethinking Educational Ethnography - Researching on-line communities and interactions. University of Barcelona, 7-8 June 2012.

Rethinking educational ethnography. Researching online communities and interactions

[eng] Proceedings for the 2nd annual conference: Rethinking Educational Ethnography - Researching on-line communities and interactions. University of Barcelona, 7-8 June 2012.