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The Economic Impact of Colleges and Universities

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Author Info
John J. Siegfried () (Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University and AEA)
Allen R. Sanderson () (Department of Economics, University of Chicago)
Peter McHenry () (Department of Economics, Yale University)

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Abstract

This essay describes methodological approaches and pitfalls common to studies of the economic impact of colleges and universities. Such studies often claim local benefits that imply annualized rates of return on local investment exceeding 100 percent. We address problems in these studies pertaining to the specification of the counterfactual, the definition of the local area, the identification of "new" expenditures, the tendency to double count economic impacts, the role of local taxes, and the omission of local spillover benefits from enhanced human capital created by higher education, and offer several suggestions for improvement. If these economic impact studies were conducted at the level of accuracy most institutions require of faculty research, their claims of local economic benefits would not be so preposterous, and, as a result, trust in and respect for higher education officials would be enhanced.

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File URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Econ/wparchive/workpaper/vu06-w12.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function: First version, 2006
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University in its series Working Papers with number 0612.

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Date of creation: May 2006
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Handle: RePEc:van:wpaper:0612

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Related research
Keywords: Colleges; universities; local economic impact; economic impact study;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education Research Institutions
R11 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Analysis of Growth, Development, and Changes

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Glaeser, E.L. & Scheinkman, J.A., 1993. "Economic Growth in a Cross-Section of Cities," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1645, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    Other versions:
  2. Janet Currie & Enrico Moretti, 2003. "Mother'S Education And The Intergenerational Transmission Of Human Capital: Evidence From College Openings," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 118(4), pages 1495-1532, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Lange, Fabian & Topel, Robert, 2006. "The Social Value of Education and Human Capital," Handbook of the Economics of Education, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Bound, John & Groen, Jeffrey & Kezdi, G.Gabor & Turner, Sarah, 2004. "Trade in university training: cross-state variation in the production and stock of college-educated labor," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 143-173. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Groen, J.A.Jeffrey A., 2004. "The effect of college location on migration of college-educated labor," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 125-142. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Getz, Malcom & Huang, Yuh-ching, 1978. "Consumer Revealed Preference for Environmental Goods," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(3), pages 449-58, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Milligan, Kevin & Moretti, Enrico & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2004. "Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1667-1695, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Daron Acemoglu & Joshua Angrist, 1999. "How Large are the Social Returns to Education? Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Laws," NBER Working Papers 7444, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Estimating the social return to higher education: evidence from longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 175-212. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Timothy J. Bartik & George Erickcek, 2007. "Higher Education, the Health Care Industry, and Metropolitan Regional Economic Development: What Can “Eds & Meds” Do for the Economic Fortunes of a Metro Area’s Residents?," Staff Working Papers 08-140, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bernard F. Lentz & David N. Laband, 2008. "The Impact of College Athletics on Employment in the Restaurant and Accommodations Industries," Working Papers 0803, International Association of Sports Economists. [Downloadable!]
  3. Blomquist, Glenn C. & Coomes, Paul A. & Jepsen, Christopher & Koford, Brandon C. & Troske, Kenneth, 2009. "Estimating the Social Value of Higher Education: Willingness to Pay for Community and Technical Colleges," IZA Discussion Papers 4086, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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