Search Results
Journal Article
Do Affirmative Action Bans Cause Students to Move Across State Lines to Attend College?
This Economic Commentary studies whether statewide bans on affirmative action in admission to public universities cause students to move to a new state to attend college. Regression results using data from the decennial census and the American Community Survey provide little evidence that affirmative action bans result in migration across state lines to attend college. In addition to being of direct interest, these results provide a check on earlier research that treats different states roughly as separate higher education markets.
Working Paper
An Empirical Analysis of Racial Segregation in Higher Education
This descriptive paper documents how segregation between blacks and whites across colleges in the United States has evolved since the 1960s. It also explores potential channels through which changes are occurring, and it uses recent data to study the issue of segregation within colleges. The main findings are as follows: (1) White exposure to blacks has been rising since the 1960s, whereas black exposure to whites increased sharply in the late 1960s and early 1970s and has fluctuated since then. Meanwhile, black-white dissimilarity and the Theil index fell sharply in the late 1960s and early ...
Speech
Higher Education in an Evolving Economy
Speaking in New York City, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker talked about the challenges facing the U.S. higher education system in an evolving economy. He also discussed the barriers many underrepresented students encounter.
Speech
Creating An Economy That Works for All: Remarks at the Bunker Hill Community College 2023 Convocation
To build a vibrant, inclusive economy, we need the best ideas, energy, and participation from everyone. Community colleges play a critical role in this important work by providing affordable, accessible higher education and essential skill development – ultimately strengthening our economy and society.
Working Paper
Affording Degree Completion: An Experimental Study of Completion Grants at Accessible Public Universities
To improve college affordability and graduation rates, universities are increasingly allocating “completion grants” to students who are nearing the finish line but facing financial challenges. Using an experimental design and common program model across 11 broad-access public universities in ten states, we assessed the impact of a completion grants averaging $1,200 distributed among more than 14,000 students. We find that, despite university expectations that most students were near completion, only two-thirds of students eligible to receive a completion grant graduated within the ...
Briefing
College Towns and COVID-19: The Impact on New England
The abrupt closing of college campuses this spring due to the spread of COVID-19 upended the lives of students and their families and disrupted the higher education sector. The impact of these closures and the questions of whether and how to reopen campuses this fall have been widely discussed. Less attention has been paid to the potential consequences for the local economies of the cities and towns that depend heavily on higher education. This issue is particularly important in New England, where in many communities, colleges and universities are among the largest employers and make an ...
How Important Is Instructional Spending to College Students’ Future Earnings?
Do colleges that invest more in instructional spending—on faculty, libraries, science labs—offer an education that translates into higher earnings for students?
Discussion Paper
How Colleges and Universities Can Help Their Local Economies
Policymakers are increasingly viewing colleges and universities as important engines of growth for their local areas. In addition to having direct economic impacts, these institutions help to raise the skills of an area’s workforce (its local “human capital”), and they do this in two ways. First, by educating potential workers, they increase the supply of human capital in a region. Perhaps less obviously, these schools can also raise a region’s demand for human capital by helping local businesses create jobs for skilled workers. In this post, we draw on our recent academic research ...
Journal Article
Capital for Communities: Financing Human Capital Through Income Share Agreements
Outstanding federal student loan balances in the U.S. exceed $1.2 trillion, and many believe rising student loan delinquencies represent an emerging crisis for students and the broader economy. Income share agreements (ISAs) have been identified as a new potential source for financing higher education, making important investments in human capital improvements while limiting some of the debt burden placed on students. This article will explore why some believe that alternatives to traditional student loans are needed and will also examine the promising solutions ISAs could bring to students ...
Discussion Paper
The Lingering Fiscal Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Higher Education
The unprecedented challenges from COVID-19 present many institutions of higher education with liquidity, and even solvency, concerns. In this report, we provide guidance to institutions and policymakers about the short- and medium-term revenue losses that are likely to materialize as a result of the ongoing pandemic and associated disruptions to revenue and expenses. Using historical data on states’ responses to previous economic downturns and contemporaneous measures of the severity of the current economic predicament, we project state and local appropriation reductions that public ...