Impact of Financial Support on Study Duration and Success

The Economic Logic blog links to research on the impact of financial support on study duration and success. Daniela Glocker (DIW Berlin) uses German data and finds that the source of support matters. Institutional student aid leads to shorter study duration than, say, support by parents. The amount of financial support has no impact on duration, but improves the probability of successful completion of studies.

Irish women less optimistic on economy?

Irish women are less optimistic about the general state of the economy and living conditions in Ireland than males, according to a survey carried out by Dublin-based digital research agency Sponge It. (Sponge It has a consumer panel of 3,000). More detail on the story is available here.

The survey shows that 65pc of males think Ireland is a better place to live than 10 years ago, compared to 56pc of females. Females are also less likely to make a major purchase in the next three months at 17pc, in comparison to 23pc of males. The are a number of possible motivations behind these answers; so what I can see from the research so far does not strictly indicate that Irish women are less optimistic on the economy.

Sarah A Gubbins will present on gender differences in the Irish Universities Study on Friday at Geary, and the findings may shed more light on gender differences in college students' optimism about the economy.

After They Graduate

This report (by Jolly, Yu and Orazem) provides a descriptive overview of the Iowa State University Alumni Survey. In late 2007, 25,000 Iowa State University alumni who received bachelor's degree between 1982 and 2006 were surveyed to obtain information on their career paths, employment status, further education, entrepreneurial activities, community engagement and current income. The on-line and written survey resulted in approximately 5,500 valid returns.