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The Impact Of Highly Publicized Campus Scandals On College Outcomes

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  • Patrick Rooney
  • Jonathan Smith

Abstract

Recently, many high‐profile scandals have occurred on college campuses. How might scandals affect colleges' outcomes? To investigate, we construct a dataset of scandals at the top 100 U.S. universities from 2001 to 2013. We find that scandals with significant media coverage substantially reduce applications. For example, a scandal covered in a long‐form news article leads to a 10% drop in applications the following year‐roughly the same impact of dropping ten spots in prominent college rankings. This impact persists for 2 years. We find no impact on incoming student body competitiveness, yield, or alumni donations, and little effect on deterring future scandals. (JEL L82, I23, D83)

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Rooney & Jonathan Smith, 2019. "The Impact Of Highly Publicized Campus Scandals On College Outcomes," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 37(3), pages 492-508, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:37:y:2019:i:3:p:492-508
    DOI: 10.1111/coep.12427
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    Cited by:

    1. Kerianne Lawson, 2021. "The Lasting Impact of NCAA Sanctions: SMU and the Death Penalty," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(8), pages 946-981, December.
    2. Acton, Riley K., 2022. "Is a name change a game change? The impact of college-to-university conversions," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Candon Johnson & Bryan C. McCannon, 2022. "Athletics and Admissions: The Impact of the Penn State Football Scandal on Student Quality," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(2), pages 200-221, February.
    4. Lindo, Jason M. & Marcotte, Dave E. & Palmer, Jane E. & Swensen, Isaac D., 2019. "Any press is good press? The unanticipated effects of Title IX investigations on university outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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