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Omicron Delta Epsilon Chapter Advisor's Session

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Atlanta Marriott Marquis, M105
Hosted By: Omicron Delta Epsilon
  • Chair: Ali Zadeh, Susquehanna University

Understanding the Heterogeneity of Online Education: Which Students Benefit from Online Economics Courses?

Gregory Pac
,
Alfred University

Abstract

It is fairly well-established that online courses negatively affect student performance. The inherent assumption is that student outcomes online and in-class are perfect counterfactuals, however, knowing that there are differences in student outcomes between both modes of delivery is not in and of itself useful to educators, as this will not improve student outcomes. What we actually want to know is what underlying mechanism causes this negative impact of online learning; understanding the mechanisms underlying a treatment is of equal importance to the treatment itself. Furthermore, prior literature has focused on large private institutions and community colleges which may not be generalizable to all higher educational institutions, especially small, selective liberal arts institutions which focus on classroom teaching and faculty engagement. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to assess student performance in online economics courses relative to traditional in-person courses in a small liberal arts institution where online instruction and course offerings are a complement to traditional in-person curriculum. I clearly address and define the source of treatment heterogeneity in order to understand what underlying mechanisms actually generate the differences in student outcomes. I examine student characteristics to understand which features of online learning work for various types of students. I also describe the selection bias for online education to understand what type of students are better-suited for receiving online education. I use a rich data detailing the students entire academic history and background, including well-defined measures of student self-motivation which were not observed in prior studies. I identify the effect of online enrollment using a novel instrumental variable strategy to account for endogenous selection based on the random assignment of students to advisors who teach online, compared to those who do not. My instrument identifies the effect of online teaching for the marginal student, who is most likely to be influenced by assignment to an online-teaching advisor. My initial findings suggest that in this setting, students are in fact positively selected, with no apparent differences in achievement once selection factors have been accounted for. These findings undermine those of previous studies, suggesting that generalizability depends largely on the context in which the online courses are implemented, and that treatment heterogeneity may be a significant problem when making cross-study comparisons.

The Development of Real-Life Economics Courses for Freshman and Sophomore Students at the Collegiate Level

Yaya Sissoko
,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Brian Sloboda
,
University of Phoenix

Abstract

Students often enter freshman and sophomore economics courses with the notion that the content will be dry and perhaps theoretical with little real-world relevance. That is, students want to know how the concepts of these courses fit into their lives, not as an abstraction. Therefore, students need to be presented with real life economics. That is, real life economics is oriented towards finding solutions to problems which people experience in their lives: poverty, unemployment, increasing disparities of income and wealth. To achieve the latter, this paper presents details of integrating data analysis in freshman and sophomore courses in economics. There were three key elements in this class: teaching of applied economics, individual presentations on the data analysis of the paper either via a written paper and/or oral presentation, and using concepts taught from these courses to write a paper related to an economics topic. This assignment required the use of data sources, manipulating the downloaded data for presentation, and being able to explain the results from the data. This paper illustrates how the three elements of the class could complement each other and provide the students with a means to understand economics using economic data.

Marriage Markets and Educational Outcomes among Black and White Women

Christina Houseworth
,
Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of marriage in determining college enrollment by examining two groups with distinctly different marriage markets: black and white women. This project expands on the definition of the marriage market, focusing on the specific relationship between marriage markets for black and white females and college enrollment. The decision to attend college for women is likely driven by two factors related to marriage: 1. College may itself be a marriage market, and 2. College attendance may be the result of a poor marriage market and consequently less expected future financial security. There are likely to be differences between black and white women given that marriage markets are narrowly defined and can vary drastically by race and ethnicity.

The 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study [NELS88] is used to provide important information related to the determinants of post-secondary enrollment. The NELS88 is combined with marriage market characteristics extracted from the 1990 Census. Marriage market characteristics include two availability ratios, group size, and percentages of employed, educated, and incarcerated men estimated by race, age, and state. When the dependent variable is any form of post-secondary education, marriage market characteristics for black women are significantly related to enrollment. Black women who live in areas with a higher proportion of employed black men to women are less likely to be enrolled in post-secondary education. When the dependent variable is bachelors degree enrollment, the more available white men [to women] by state is negatively related to enrollment for white women. Marriage market variables are more likely to be significant for white women when the dependent variable is a dichotomous variable indicating bachelors degree enrollment as opposed to any type of post-secondary enrollment.

Political Loyalty, Leadership Style, and Economic Growth: Evidence from China

Guangjun Qu
,
Birmingham-Southern College

Abstract

This study investigates whether variation in fiscal resources of a government and regional economic growth in China can be attributed to the political loyalty and leadership style of sub-national leaders of the Communist Party of China. The literature suggests that both employees loyalty and leadership styles affect efficiency of an organization in the private sector. Very few studies look at the relationship in the public sector. Even for the studies looking at the relationship in private businesses, their conclusions are drawn based upon employee survey results, which are problematic given the potential conflict of interest between employees and employers. To measure political loyalty and leadership style, we rely on the official newspapers, or the mouthpiece, of the Party and count the number of articles discussing policies of upper-level governments and characteristics of sub-national leaders. We consider the frequencies of these articles in all articles published in the official newspapers as proxies for political loyalty and leadership style, respectively, of the leaders. We find that fiscal resources allocation and local economic performance depend upon both political loyalty and leadership style of the leaders. Our results shed light not only on the role of local leaders in economic growth but also on the general role of the leaders in organizational efficiency and performance.
Discussant(s)
Gregory Pac
,
Alfred University
Yaya Sissoko
,
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Christina Houseworth
,
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Guangjun Qu
,
Birmingham-Southern College
Brian Sloboda
,
University of Pheonix
JEL Classifications
  • A1 - General Economics
  • A1 - General Economics