Footnotes

1. Recent controversy over the calculation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) represents a combination of disagreement about the best way to deal with certain technical problems and concern about the ramifications of change because of the effect of the CPI on social security and other governmental programs.   [Back]

2. The appropriate correction of the CPI for quality changes is one of the current sources of controversy. Similarly, some dispute about the pattern of overall change in the productivity of U.S. manufacturing relates to the measurement of computer and information systems inputs into production. Over a longer period of time, it is not just quality changes but also the introduction of new products that leads to problems.   [Back]

3. Again, measurement issues abound. For example, while musical groups may be constrained to a relatively fixed mix of musicians, some believe the advent of recordings, radio, television, and now the Internet have led to a very large expansion of output for the same number of musicians. If defined solely in terms of concert performances, there may be little substitutability, but this does not hold if defined in terms of total music output.    [Back]

4. The CPI by definition measures prices for items directly purchased by consumers. The GDP deflator measures price increases for both consumer and producer goods. Over time these tend to move together.    [Back]

5. The combination of the CPI and the salaries of college graduates is meant to reflect the various inputs purchased by schools. Changing the weights within reasonable ranges will have relatively minor effects on the indices.    [Back]

6. We could not calculate the NSI index prior to 1981 because of missing data on the shelter component.   [Back]

7. The documentation of this can be found in Hanushek (1997). While subject to some continuing controversy, little evidence supports the general reductions in class size (see Hedges, Laine, and Greenwald 1994; Hanushek 1996).   [Back]

References  [Top]

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Council of Economic Advisors. 1997. Economic Report of the President, 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Grissmer, D. W., S. N. Kirby, M. Berends, and S. Williamson. 1994. Student Achievement and the Changing American Family. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.

Hanushek, E. A. Summer 1997. "Assessing the Effects of School Resources on Student Performance: An Update." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 19(2).

Hanushek, E. A. 1996b. "School Resources and Student Performance", in Does Money Matter? The Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement and Adult Success, edited by Gary Burtless. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Hanushek, E. A., and S. G. Rivkin. Winter 1997. "Understanding the 20th Century Growth in U.S. School Spending." Journal of Human Resources. 32(1): 35-68.

Hanushek, E. A. et al. 1994. Making Schools Work: Improving Performance and Controlling Costs. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

Hedges, L. V., R. D. Laine, and R. Greenwald. April 1994. "Does Money Matter? A Meta-analysis of Studies of the Effects of Differential School Inputs on Student Outcomes." Educational Researcher. 23(3): 5-14.

Mishel, L., and R. Rothstein. July 1996. Alternative Options for Deflating Education Expenditures Over Time. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Mimeographed.

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Rothstein, R., and K. H. Miles. 1995. Where's the Money Gone? Changes in the Level and Composition of Education Spending. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.

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U.S. Department of Education. 1994. The Condition of Education, 1994. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

[The Productivity Collapse in Schools]