Friday@Five

Dropping Knowledge

The Washington Post released some research on the graduation rates of Pell Grant students from public universities.  The data compares the Pell Grant student graduation rates to those of other students and amongst public universities.  UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State, the only N.C. universities in the 100 schools studied, each had graduation rates four percentage points lower than the overall graduation rates.  Overall among the publics, UNC-Chapel Hill had the fourth highest Pell Grant student graduation rate and NC State was 20th.

For Your Consideration

The Rand Corporation released a progress report summarizing the early results of an initiative in the tri-state Appalachia region of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.  Funded by local corporate and philanthropic interests, the Appalachia Partnership Initiative seeks to create a “sustainable STEM education and energy and manufacturing workforce development ecosystem.” Frankly, the progress report results are predictable: collaboration and coordination improved in the first two years but were still not where initiators hoped.  For North Carolina, the report and the sponsoring entity show how another region is addressing manufacturing job loss.

In the Weeds

The American Enterprise Institute has a new white paper evaluating U.S. Agricultural Policy, which the authors feel is in “disarray.” The paper’s chief argument is that federal subsidies largely go to large, commercial farmers who sit above the average U.S. household income. Specifically, the authors state that “more than 50 percent of the approximately $7 billion spent annually on the new direct farm subsidy programs introduced in the 2014 Farm Bill also flows to the largest 10 percent of all farm businesses.”

What we're reading

 

Five maps show progress made, but mostly lost, on middle-class incomes in America

Brookings | 10/11/2017

A new Brookings report shows how the median household income has changed in U.S. metro areas. The report shows metro maps in five categories. NC is prevalent in the lowest category.... Read the rest

• America's Hidden Gems: Rural, Latinx and Gifted Students

  Real Clear Education | 10/12/2017

• What If Socially Useful Jobs Were Taxed Less Than Other Jobs?

  Harvard Business Review | 10/11/2017

• Gentrification? Bring it.

  The Conversation | 10/11/2017

• Is North Carolina Really Becoming More Urban?

  Real Clear Policy | 10/09/2017

• Can the U.S. Repair Its Health Care While Keeping Its Innovation Edge?

  The Upshot - New York Times | 10/09/2017

• Real Estate Economists Staying Positive but Reining in Optimism

  Urban Land Institute | 10/09/2017