Economics of Human Capital Paper Rubrics
Part 1 Issue Description
1. Description of Economics of Human Capital Issue
Great
o Identify an unresolved issue of importance in the Economics of Human
Capital
o Clearly articulate the efficiency and/or equity problem(s)
o Well established relationship between the issue and policy options
o Clearly articulate the consideration of all possible policy options, leaving
nothing unresolved
Good
o Identify an unresolved issue of importance in the Economics of Human
Capital
o Articulate the efficiency and/or equity problem(s)
o Identify the relationship between the issue and some policy options
o Well articulate the consideration of some possible policy options
Fair
o Identify an unresolved issue of importance in the Economics of Human
Capital
o Not clearly stating the efficiency and/or equity problem(s)
o Not clearly identifying the relationship between the issue and policy options
o Articulate the consideration of some possible policy options but not fully
explained
Poor
o Present a topic area without identifying an unresolved issue of importance in
the Economics of Human Capital
o Fail to articulate the efficiency and/or equity problem(s)
2. Demonstration of Importance
Great
o Fully detail who is harmed and by how much
o Fully articulate the necessity of researching/addressing the issue
o Articulate the theory of harm and implications on social welfare
Good
o Detail who is harmed and by how much
o Articulate the necessity of researching/addressing the issue
o Articulate the theory of harm with some implication on social welfare(
Fair
o Indicate some of those harmed and by how much
o Discuss some benefits of researching/addressing the issue
o Little theory of harm without implications on social welfare(
Poor
o Indicate some of those harmed and by not how much
o Discuss few benefits of researching/addressing the issue
o Lack of theory of harm without implications on social welfare(
3. Economic Theory
Great
o Fully explain the relevant economic principles, concepts and theories
o Relate the economic theory to the issue of importance in the Economics of
Human Capital
o Demonstrate the application of law to the economic theory (i.e. explain in
one’s own words how the Economics of Human Capital issue connect with the
theory, or how variables interact with the policy change)
Good
o Explain the relevant economic principles, concepts and theories
o Suggest how the economic theory connect to some issue of importance in the
Economics of Human Capital
o Demonstrate the application of law to the economic theory (i.e. explain in
one’s own words how the Economics of Human Capital issue connect with the
theory, or how variables interact with the policy change
Fair
o Identify some relevant economic principles and concepts
o Relate the economic principles to the issue of importance in the Economics of
Human Capital but fail to demonstrate clear understanding of theory
o Suggest the application of law to the economic theory (i.e. explain in one’s
own words how the Economics of Human Capital issue connect with the
theory, or how variables interact with the policy change
Poor
o Limited integration of relevant economic principles
o Limited connection between relevant economic principles and
o Limited connection between principles and policy options
4. Academic Sources
Great
o 5-7 recent peer-reviewed journal articles, books, or publications
Good
o 5-7 peer-reviewed journal articles or books
o A few economics sources
Fair
o Limited economics sources
o One definitive source
o Some news sources
Poor
o No professional sources
o Open access internet sources (e.g. Wikipedia)
o Few news sources
o No definitive sources
5. Clarity
Great
o Direct, tight, and concise sentences, thoughts, definitions, and points
o Language is clear and precise; sentences display consistently strong and
appropriate structure
o Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed; spelling is correct
Good
o Well-constructed paragraphs and sentence, but narrative could be better
focused
o Language is brief and precise; sentences display structure
o Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are used; spelling does not distract
Fair
o Paragraphs are organized and ideas are presented in obvious stream of thought
o Language lacks clarity or includes the use of some jargon or conversational
tone
o Paper contains few grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors
Poor
o Use long quotes and demonstrate limited understanding
o Language uses jargon or conversational tone
o Paper contains numerous grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors
Part 2 Quantitative Analysis
1. Methodology
Great
o Provide a well-developed empirical approach (meta-analysis) or a
theoretic model(s) to informatively address the issue (sic, inefficiency
and/or inequity) of importance
o Present a clear statement of the hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested and the
identification and justification of the statistical and economic technique(s)
used
o Discuss limitations of the proposed methodology
o Pose a valid social science question (sic, inquiry)…how or why?
Good
o Provide an empirical approach (meta-analysis) or a theoretic model(s) to
informatively address the issue (sic, inefficiency and/or inequity) of
importance
o Present a clear statement of the hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested and the
identification and justification of the statistical and economic technique(s)
used
o Discuss some limitations of the proposed methodology
o Pose a social science question (sic, inquiry)
Fair
o Provide limited empirical approach (meta-analysis) or a theoretic model(s)
without addressiing the issue (sic, inefficiency or inequity) of importance
o Present a limited statement of the hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested
without the identification and justification of the statistical and economic
technique(s) used
o Limited consideration of limitations of the proposed methodology
o Lack a question (sic, inquiry)
Poor
o Limited empirical approach (meta-analysis) or theoretic model(s) to
address the issue (sic, inefficiency and/or inequity) of importance
o Present a limited statement of the hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested
without the identification and justification of the statistical and economic
technique(s) used
o Limited consideration of limitations of the proposed methodology
o Lack a question (sic, inquiry)
2. Data
Great
o Present all relevant and comprehensive data (from empirical studies) in an
organized and understandable format
o Each measure/variable is carefully and clearly defined (what does it
represent, and how it is measured?)
o Provide a comprehensive strength-and-weakness analysis of the chosen
data
Good
o Present relevant and comprehensive data (from empirical studies) in an
organized and understandable format
o Measures/variables are carefully and clearly defined (what does it
represent, and how it is measured?)
o Provide a strength-and-weakness analysis of the chosen data
Fair
o Present a series of relevant and comprehensive data in an organized and
understandable format
o Present some interpretation of each variable, but lack clarity
o Limited analysis of data quality
Poor
o Present a series of data which are not relevant or show very weak
relevance
o Measures/variables are not carefully and clearly defined (failing to detail
what does it represent, and how it is measured?)
o Data are unorganized and difficult to follow.
3. Results and Discussion
Great
o Provide accurate explanations of all information presented in the data
o Make appropriate inferences based on the information
o Skillfully apply relevant consideration of policy options and/or potential
impacts to an insightful economics framework with strong mathematical
support (statistics, regression analysis, etc.)
Good
o Provide accurate explanations of information presented in the data
o Competently apply relevant consideration of policy options and/or
potential impacts to an economics framework with appropriate and desired
mathematical support
Fair
o Provide somewhat accurate explanations of information presented in the
data but occasionally make minor errors or leave out necessary
information
o Completely apply information to economic framework, but lack full
consideration of policy options and/or potential impacts
Poor
o Attempt to explain information presented in the data but result in
inappropriate or irrelevant discussion
o Fail to apply information to economic framework
4. Conclusion: Answer to the Question
Great
o Use the quantitative analysis of data as the basis for deep and thoughtful
judgments on the policy, drawing insightful, carefully qualified
conclusions from the work
Good
o Use the quantitative analysis of data as the basis for competent judgments
on the policy, drawing reasonable and appropriately qualified conclusions
from the work
Fair
o Use the quantitative analysis of data as the basis for reasonable judgments
on the policy (without inspiration or nuance, ordinary), drawing plausible
conclusions from the work
Poor
o Use the quantitative analysis as the basis for tentative, basic judgments on
the policy, although is hesitant or uncertain about drawing conclusions
from the work
5. Sources and Form
Great
o 5-7 recent peer-reviewed journal articles, books, or publications
o Correctly follow the chosen writing style (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.)
Good
o 3-5 peer-reviewed journal articles or books
o A few economics sources
o Correctly follow the chosen writing style (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.), but
show minor mistakes
Fair
o Limited peer-reviewed articles or books
o One definitive source
o Some news sources
o Show some mistakes of the chosen writing style (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.),
such as wrong in-text citation and/or reference page format
Poor
o No peer-reviewed sources
o Open access internet sources (e.g. Wikipedia)
o Few news sources
o No definitive sources
o Does not follow thorough the chosen writing style