Random effects estimates using panel data for 42 colleges and universities over 16 years reveal that the economics faculty size of universities offering a Ph.D. in economics is determined primarily by the long-run average number of Ph.D. degrees awarded annually; the number of full-time faculty...

The elapsed time taken to earn a Ph.D. in economics is analyzed with data from 618 1996-97 Ph.D.s. A duration model indicates that students supported by fellowships, and those holding a prior masters degree finish faster. Americans, those who take jobs before completing their degree, and those...

What tangible benefit do universities who participate in major televised sports achieve from their commitment? The essay reviews the evidence on the gains in public funding, attraction of philanthropy, increases in applicants and selectivity, and the influence on students. Ultimately, what is...

This paper describes the characteristics and labor market experiences of new agricultural and natural resource (ANR) economics Ph.D.s, based on surveys of graduates in 1996-97 and 2001-02. An average of 185 new Ph.D.s in ANR economics were awarded in each of these years. Among these, an average...

Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United States experienced a substantial decline in undergraduate degrees in economics from 1992 through 1996, followed immediately by a modest recovery. This cycle does not conform to overall degree trends, shifts in the gender composition of undergraduate...

Data on 2,822 Vanderbilt University graduates are used to investigate alumni giving behavior during the eight years after graduation. A two stage model accounting for incidental truncation is used to first estimate the likelihood of making a contribution and second estimate the average gift size...

Fifty years ago the JPE published Simon Rottenberg's "The Baseball Players' Labor Market", the first professional journal article in sports economics. In this retrospective we review some of his insights and analyses with regard to competitive balance, constraints on payroll and freedoms to...

Using a sample of 26 U.S. economics Ph.D. programs in Fall 2003, we estimate that only about 12 percent of the U.S. and Canadian students accepted for doctoral study did not enroll in any U.S. economics Ph.D. program in Fall 2003 or Fall 2004. It is not possible to increase the supply of new...

We test whether U.S. colleges and universities adjust their physical capital intensity to differences in factor prices by regressing the square feet of space per student on construction prices across institutions. The results indicate that physical space at selective liberal arts colleges and...

This essay describes methodological approaches and pitfalls common to studies of the economic impact of colleges and universities. Such studies often claim local benefits that imply annualized rates of return on local investment exceeding 100 percent. We address problems in these studies...