Working Paper: NBER ID: w21432
Authors: Yan Lau; Harvey S. Rosen
Abstract: Observers have expressed concern about growing inequality in resources across universities. But are universities really becoming more unequal? We argue that the typical approach of examining endowment growth alone is not sensible. In line with the literature on household inequality, we focus instead on a comprehensive income measure. We find that although there is considerable inequality among institutions, concerns about the inexorable growth of inequality are overblown. Whether one looks at income, endowment wealth, or expenditure, inequality has been high but stable, exhibiting only negligible increases in recent years. Furthermore, there has been little mobility within the higher education sector.
Keywords: inequality; universities; higher education
JEL Codes: I22; I23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| income inequality among universities (I24) | concerns about growth of inequality (F62) |
| comprehensive income measure (G39) | assessment of inequality (I14) |
| income inequality (2002-2010) (D31) | stability in public institutions (O17) |
| income inequality (2002-2010) (D31) | variability in private institutions (I23) |
| Gini coefficients for income and endowment wealth (D31) | stability in inequality (C62) |
| low mobility in higher education sector (J62) | stability in relative positions (C62) |