The Handbooks in Economics series continues to provide the various branches of economics with handbooks which are definitive reference sources, suitable for use by professional researchers, advanced graduate students, or by those seeking a teaching supplement.
With contributions from leading researchers, each Handbook presents an accurate, self-contained survey of the current state of the topic under examination. These surveys summarize the most recent discussions in journals, and elucidate new developments.
Although original material is also included, the main aim of this series is the provision of comprehensive and accessible surveys
*Every volume contains contributions from leading researchers
*Each Handbook presents an accurate, self-contained survey of a particular topic
*The series provides comprehensive and accessible surveys

Spurred by court rulings requiring states to increase public-school funding, the United States now spends more per student on K-12 education than almost any other country. Yet American students still achieve less than their foreign counterparts, their performance has been flat for decades, millions of them are failing, and poor and minority students remain far behind their more advantaged peers. In this book, Eric Hanushek and Alfred Lindseth trace the history of reform efforts and conclude that the principal focus of both courts and legislatures on ever-increasing funding has done little to improve student achievement. Instead, Hanushek and Lindseth propose a new approach: a performance-based system that directly links funding to success in raising student achievement. This system would empower and motivate educators to make better, more cost-effective decisions about how to run their schools, ultimately leading to improved student performance. Hanushek and Lindseth have been important participants in the school funding debate for three decades. Here, they draw on their experience, as well as the best available research and data, to show why improving schools will require overhauling the way financing, incentives, and accountability work in public education.

"Derek Bok grasps better than anyone I know the changes that have taken place in the academic culture of American higher education. In Universities in the Marketplace, he documents the sheer growth of market forces and the escalation of commercialization in academia. Perhaps more important he alerts us that the reach of commercialization has moved from the innocent fringe of the campus (athletics and sweatshirts) to its academic heart. University presidents, trustees, and faculty leaders: take note! This is an important book."--Stanley O. Ikenberry, Regent Professor and President Emeritus, University of Illinois

"Derek Bok's wise and judicious book offers a road map for all concerned with the health and integrity of higher education in an age that has seen the boundaries between the academic, corporate, and public worlds become more permeable and the need to understand the costs associated with that transition more urgent. At the same time, President Bok's analysis of the potential dangers lurking in contemporary tendencies toward 'commercialization' is an affirmation that the enduring values of the academy can be extended and strengthened through thoughtful and careful engagement with the questions at issue."--Hanna Holborn Gray, President Emeritus, University of Chicago

"Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs of excessive commercialization in every part of the university.' His somber assessment of the current state of athletics, scientific research, and distance education, and his call for review and restraint, should engage the attention of every faculty senatein the country. He has given us a timely, candid, courageous, and important book."--Frank H. T. Rhodes, President Emeritus, Cornell University

"This book is a thoughtful and wide-ranging analysis of the commercial pressures on universities. There is no other study like it. Extremely well organized, clear, and gracefully written, "Universities in the Marketplace" will be of interest to all those concerned about higher education and its future."--William G. Bowen, President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

""Universities in the Marketplace" is quite a successful book that breaks valuable new ground. Derek Bok's calmly reasoned voice contrasts favorably with the hyperbole that surrounds many such discussions. The writing is so clear and the arguments so reasonable that it is easy to overlook the author's effortless command of the relevant literature and his well-judged historical treatment of his subjects. No other book is both so comprehensive and so accessible."--Michael McPherson, President, Macalaster College

The companion to our popular Student Support and Benefits Handbook, this annual title is the key guide to the benefits system for students in Scotland. It includes a quick guide to the grants and loans available for further and higher education in Scotland, and clear, easy-to-use information on students' benefit entitlement and how this is affected by their student income. Also included is information on how benefits are affected in vacations and if a student takes time out from their course. Fully updated for the 2019/20 academic year, the book is an invaluable resource for anyone who advises students in Scotland. It is fully cross-referenced to the law and includes easy-to-use checklists and examples.