This thesis consists of three essays on the economics of education and migration. The first essay analyzes the effects of remittances on public education spending in migrants’ source countries. The second essay studies the impact of migration on public education expenditures in migrants’ destination countries. The third essay investigates the effects of public education expenditures on subsequent human capital inequality. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

States are facing tough economic times as a result of the housing market bubble exploding. States have been declaring budget deficits and major program cuts, since revenues have not kept up with expenditures and rainy day funds have been practically exhausted. State tax revenues have decreased, resulting from a decline in income tax revenues, one of the major sources of revenues for a large number of states (41 in total). A majority of these states have come to depend heavily on the revenue they collect from income taxes, which can represent as much as 40% of state tax revenue. This thesis focuses on the impact that income tax revenue has on state budgets and how it affects certain expenditures. To provide a more complete understanding on how fiscal policy affects the citizen directly, this thesis compares the changes in state's total tax revenue and spending on education and health programs between states that levy income tax and states that do not. Data from the United States Census Bureau and the National Association of State Budget Officials was analyzed by calculating the growth rate and relevant elasticities during 2006-2010, the years before, during, and after the last recession. Results will show a difference in changes in revenue and expenditure between the two types of states and a more sensitive elasticity for non-income tax states for both revenue and expenditure. With a better understanding of how the tax base behaves and how revenue affects programs, an improved tax policy that could produce more efficient services for citizens might be created.

Questa tesi è una raccolta di tre saggi di economia multisettoriale applicata. L'obiettivo è la progettazione di politiche economiche per il sistema educativo degli Stati Uniti. Un miglioramento delle prestazioni del sistema educativo può avere effetti positivi sullo sviluppo socio-economico del paese. Il metodo di analisi adottato è l'approccio della matrice di contabilità sociale, in inglese Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). I modelli multisettoriali basati sulla SAM estendono l'analisi input-output tradizionale ai problemi della generazione e distribuzione del reddito e della formazione della domanda finale. L'impiego di modelli multisettoriali statici e dinamici basati sulla SAM mostra che politiche per l'istruzione progettate in modo appropriato possono stimolare la produzione di capitale umano, l'attività produttiva e la formazione di reddito contribuendo, allo stesso tempo, alla stabilizzazione del deficit del governo federale degli Stati Uniti. Il primo capitolo descrive le SAM per gli Stati Uniti per gli anni 2009 e 2012 e spiega come compilare una SAM. Il secondo descrive un modello multisettoriale statico e presenta alcune politiche per l'istruzione. Il terzo descrive un modello multisettoriale dinamico e presenta alcune politiche per l'istruzione. Le politiche proposte si dimostrano adatte a contrastare crisi e recessione e possono indicare una strada verso stabilità economica e crescita. / This dissertation is a collection of three essays on applied multisectoral analysis. The aim is to design and evaluate policies for the education system of the US. Good performances in terms of education have positive externalities on the social and economic development of a country. The methodology adopted is the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) approach, which extends traditional input-output analysis to income generation and distribution and final demand formation. Policy design and evaluation carried out through static and dynamic SAM-based multisectoral models show that well-conceived policies for education can stimulate the accumulation of human capital, production and income while contributing to the stabilization of the federal budget deficit of the US. The first chapter describes the SAMs for the US for the years 2009 and 2012 and shows how to assemble a basic SAM from readily available statistics. The second chapter discusses a static SAM-based multisectoral model and policy applications. The third chapter discusses a dynamic SAM-based multisectoral model and policy applications. The policies proposed in the second and third chapter prove to be effective in contrasting output and income downturns and can show a way for economic growth and stability.