Economics - Research Publications

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    Systematic influences on teaching evaluations: The case for caution
    Davies, M ; Hirschberg, J ; Lye, J ; Johnston, C ; Mcdonald, I (WILEY, 2007-03)
    In this paper, we examine eight years of Quality of Teaching (QOT) responses from an Economics Department in an Australian University. This is done to determine what factors, besides the instructor, have an impact on the raw average student evaluation scores. Most of the previous research on student ratings has been conducted in the US. One significant difference between US and Australian tertiary education is that, on average, the number of foreign undergraduate students in Australia is ten times the number in US institutions. We find that cultural background significantly affects student evaluations. Other factors that have an influence on the average QOT score include: year level; enrolment size; the quantitative nature of the subject; the gender of the student; fee‐paying status by gender; course of study; the differences between the course mark and previous marks; the quality of workbooks; the quality of textbooks; and the QOT score relative to those in other subjects taught at the same time. In addition, average QOT scores for instructors who have taught in a mix of subjects are similar to those based on scores adjusted to account for subject and student characteristics.
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    ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND HUMAN CAPITAL: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE LITERATURE
    Lye, J ; Hirschberg, J (WILEY, 2010-04)
    Abstract Grossman proposed an individual's health can be viewed as one aspect of their human capital. Following this line of thought a number of recent papers have reported a positive impact of alcohol consumption on earnings. The rationale for the existence of such a relationship is the positive impact of alcohol on physical and mental health. We conduct a meta‐analysis to determine whether such factors as: the estimation technique, the presence of ex‐drinkers in the sample, possible sample selection bias and publication bias may all contribute to these findings. An additional suggestion for the positive relationship between alcohol and wages is the presence of a common set of personality traits that determines drinking behaviour and also leads to higher earnings. We examine this relationship by reviewing the literature that investigates if the personality influencing aspects of alcohol consumption influences measures of human capital. We also survey the significant body of research that has examined how alcohol consumption has been found to influence educational outcomes and the work force participation of problem drinkers.
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    Antitrust issues in international comparisons of market structure
    HIRSCHBERG, JG ; MASSOUMI, E ; SLOTTJE, DJ ; ARIZE, A ( 2003)
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    Inferential methods for elasticity estimates
    Hirschberg, JG ; Lye, JN ; Slottje, DJ (ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA, 2008-12)