PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USA: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

High costs and low graduation rates characteristic of 21st‐century US public higher education stem from the bout of rent‐seeking attributable to the post‐Sputnik explosion in research spending and the consequent crusade to enrol new students, with diminishing concern for academic aptitude. New polic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economic affairs (Harlow) 2012-02, Vol.32 (1), p.68-71
Main Authors: Murchison, William, Pejovich, Svetozar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
admission standards
consulting
Economic rent
Education finance
Gary Becker
graduation rates
Graduations & commencements
Higher education
Public schools
rent-seeking
Research & development expenditures
Sputnik
Studies
tuition
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Summary:High costs and low graduation rates characteristic of 21st‐century US public higher education stem from the bout of rent‐seeking attributable to the post‐Sputnik explosion in research spending and the consequent crusade to enrol new students, with diminishing concern for academic aptitude. New policies that tighten admission standards, encourage earlier graduation and enhance financial aid for the truly needy would constructively address these problems, as would incentives for faculty members to curtail outside consulting.
ISSN:0265-0665
1468-0270
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2011.02132.x