Outcome assessment: a tool for enhancing quality,relevance and accountability

The issue of outcome assessment is receiving increased attention in the area of higher education, generally, and in the fields of public and business administration, more specifically. A variety of methodologies are available for such assessments. This article argues that survey methodology is the most appropriate approach and presents a model for designing survey-based outcome assessments. In addition, an example of the application of survey methods for outcome assessment of a unique graduate level management education program is presented.     

A simple model of primary commodity price determination: 1900–80

This article specifies and estimates a model of the determination of the real price of primary commodities over the period 1900 to 1980. The empirical evidence reported in the article suggests that the long‐run behaviour of real commodity prices is significantly influenced by both demand and supply side forces, as represented by the level of world production and a distributed lag of previous real prices respectively.     

The decline of an export industry,or the growth of Peruvian sugar consumption in the long run

Growth of domestic consumption of agricultural exportables is a neglected aspect of LDCs’ long‐run primary export performance. Price and income elasticities of local demand for specific exportables vary with economic development, so the Peruvian sugar industry was chosen to illustrate how and why such changes occur. Elasticity estimates for different types of sugar are presented for several time periods between 1913 and 1978. A comparison of these results with those of other researchers suggests that aggregating raw, refined and plantation white sugar consumption may bias income elasticity estimates for refined sugar upwards, and price elasticity estimates downwards.     

Information technology and education for the public service

Nation-wide surveys of graduate programs in public administration/affairs support assertions by critics that most programs do not provide students with adequate preparation for coping with information technology. This paper identifies the computer-related knowledge and skills demanded by the contemporary administrative workplace and, after analyzing the sufficiency of current curricula offerings, proposes three goals for education in the use and management of information technology and suggests curriculum revisions necessary to reach these goals. Finally, implementation problems associated with curricula revisions are identified and discussed.