Colleges and universities face an annual challenge to distribute housing to students. Initial student numbers usually exceed housing potential, but no-shows and early departures often even the numbers in the first few weeks of the year. Complicating factors include families' increasing ability to pay for dormitory housing, better campus housing…

Fourth in a series of articles summarizing studies that examined the impact of comprehensive health-promotion and disease-management programs on health and cost. The focus is on worksite health promotion and education. Study results provide cautious optimism about the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these worksite programs and…

Compares distance education using PictureTel, a compressed-digital-video system via telephone lines (audio and visual interactive communication) in terms of its costs and effectiveness with traditional in-class education. Costing less than half the traditional approach, the study suggested distance education would be economical if used frequently.…

Examines frequency, costs, and quality of life losses associated with unintentional childhood injuries in 1996, using analyses of national and state data sets. Summarizes the cost effectiveness of several child safety measures and discusses current federal funding patterns for health care research on the subject. An appendix presents methods of…

Presents a case study that reports on one institution's longitudinal approach to measuring the effectiveness of merit scholarships as a recruitment and retention tool. Describes a method of analysis designed to measure the economic effectiveness of merit awards from the institution's perspective and identifies policy questions related to the use…

The three articles of this special section address developments and prospects for economic analyses of education policy. Issues addressed relate resources to outcomes in education and cost benefit analysis in education. Balancing economics and educational improvement is a focus throughout. (SLD)

The national trend toward consolidating schools has been driven by numerous factors, including fascination with economies of scale. Although small schools can claim advantages arising from a more intimate, caring atmosphere, large schools can boast specialized faculty teaching more sophisticated curricula. There is no optimal school size.…

Explores the use of a commissioning agent (CA) during school construction projects to ensure that all building systems work together and to specifications. The types of work done by a CA, the cost involved, and the overall benefits derived are outlined. (GR)

Evaluations of the appropriate level of investment in schooling have typically focused on market outcomes, but in this chapter the focus is on nonmarket effects, which add to the returns to schooling and must be considered in evaluating the optimum level of public-sector investment in education. A model is presented to estimate these returns. (SLD)

Some benefits of education are realized by society in general. The focus in this article is on three of these external, or spillover, benefits of parental educational attainment with an intergenerational dimension: effect on fertility, effect on the quality of parental investments in children, and altered costs of educating children to a given…

Conceives of educational planning as a circular process: the demand for education evolves as a function of a changing supply in educational institutions and programs. Argues that by taking into consideration the complexity of the educational environment, policy-making in education can be improved. (DSK)

This study empirically estimates a multiproduct total cost function and output relationship for comprehensive U.S. universities. Statistical results for 184 Bible colleges suggest that there are both economies of scale and of scope in higher education. Additionally, product-specific economies of scope exist for all output levels and activities.…

An evaluation of the Primary Education Quality Improvement Project in Indonesia illustrates that combining the knowledge base and methodology of educational effectiveness research and cost-effectiveness analysis provides fruitful possibilities for future theoretical/practical developments in both approaches. PEQIP positively affected student…

Explores library consortia in the United States with particular focus on academic libraries. Highlights include the history of early consortia; economic issues, including sharing resources and cost savings; types of consortia, including regional, statewide, and those with a focus on automation; and groups of consortia. (Author/LRW)

Presents the EnergyNet Energy Audit Project, a project-based curriculum on energy education. Includes ideas for working with the community and cost analysis. (YDS)