tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17206839.post7297111421578996893..comments2023-09-09T09:26:22.175-04:00Comments on Andrew Samwick's Blog: Why I Don't Like 529 Plans: Another Pecuniary ExternalityAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514024573333057559noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17206839.post-55688382487530169882007-01-24T00:05:00.000-05:002007-01-24T00:05:00.000-05:00Could you expand upon a couple thoughts:1. hedonic...Could you expand upon a couple thoughts:<br>1. hedonics and college tuition.<br>Folks buy $1000+ large screen TVs but because of hedonic improvements and manufacture in Asia TVs are a deflating item.<br><br>Colleges are clearly better. ...aren't they? Is tuition inflation as bad as it appears?<br><br>2. What are the opportunities to reduce the cost of college by outsourcing to... Asia?<br><br>3. What is the impact of poor language training of US school children and the dismal record of fluency in a second language on the ability to outsource a college education?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17206839.post-48753241755719501312007-01-24T13:20:00.000-05:002007-01-24T13:20:00.000-05:00Interesting questions. Here are some quick answer...Interesting questions. Here are some quick answers.<br><br>1. I don't know that colleges are clearly better in very recent years than they have been in years that are merely recent (i.e., after fully absorbing the GI bill cohort and co-education).<br><br>List price tuition inflation exceeds the inflation in out-of-pocket costs for those on financial aid at places like Dartmouth. If that's your frame of reference, it's not as bad as it looks.<br><br>2. Plenty, but probably more at the level of large, not particularly good, public institutions than at the level of so-called elite institutions where co-location of faculty and students really does play an important role.<br><br>3. Obviously, it doesn't help. But most of the places where you would be able to outsource--places like India where there is an educated population of skilled workers--already have large English-speaking populations.Andrew Samwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13514024573333057559noreply@blogger.com