Paying the Piper: Productivity, Incentives, and Financing in U.S. Higher Education

by Michael McPherson (Editor), Morton Owen Schapiro (Editor), Gordon Winston (Editor)

Overview

Rising tuitions and shrinking government budgets have pushed questions about productivity and resource use in U.S. higher education to the fore. In Paying the Piper three distinguished researchers examine the many successes of U.S. higher education, identify real problems, and carefully analyze potential solutions. Among the questions addressed are: On what do colleges and universities spend their money and how have their spending patterns changed over time; what does "quality" really mean in higher education and how is it related to price and cost; what are appropriate measures of "productivity"; and does increasing the amount of federal financial aid encourage colleges to raise their tuitions? The essays comprising this volume demonstrate that the application of basic economic principles and a combination of both descriptive and econometric analyses can illuminate a number of issues. Using economic concepts and tools to provide insight into these pressing questions, Paying the Piper helps us to understand the recent past, anticipate the future, and develop policies that can influence the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472223527
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	10/01/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Michael S. McPherson is a distinguished American economist who has made significant contributions to the study of economics in higher education. He is the former president of Macalester College, where he served from 1996 to 2003, and a former professor of economics at Williams College, where he also chaired the Economics Department and served as dean of the faculty. Morton Owen Schapiro is a prominent American economist and academic leader, recognized for his extensive work in the economics of higher education. Schapiro served as the 16th president of Northwestern University from 2009 to 2022, and also served as the president of Williams College from 2000 to 2009.Gordon C. Winston was a noted economist particularly recognized for his extensive work on the economics of higher education. He served as Provost of Williams College from 1988 to 1990 and was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.

Table of Contents

Contents

Part 1: Background

Chapter 1: Intoduction— Michael S. McPherson, Morton Owen Schapiro, and Gordon C. Winston

Chapter 2: Trends in Revenues and Expenditures in U.S. Higher Education: Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go?— Scott W. Blasdell, Michael S. McPherson, and Morton Owen Schapiro

Part 2: Productivity and Organization

Chapter 3: The Concept of Productivity As Applied to U.S. Higher Education— Morton Owen Schapiro

Chapter 4: The Economics of Cost, Price, and Quality in U.S. Higher Education— Michael S. McPherson and Gordon C. Winston

Chapter 5: The Economics of Academic Tenure: A Relational Perspective— Michael S. McPherson and Gordon C. Winston

Part 3: Student Finance

Chapter 6: How Can We Tell if Federal Student Aid Is Working?— Michael S. McPherson

Chapter 7: Federal Student Aid Policy: Can We Learn from Experience?— Michael S. McPherson

Chapter 8: Measuring the Effects of Federal Student Aid: An Assessment of Some Methodological and Empirical Problems— Michael S. McPherson and Morton Owen Schapiro

Chapter 9: Robin Hood in the Forests of Academe— Gordon C. Winston

Part 4: Institutional Finance

Chapter 10: The Effect of Government Financing on the Behavior of Colleges and Universities— Michael S. McPherson and Morton Owen Schapiro

Chapter 11: Total College Income: An Economic Overview of Williams College 1956-57 to 1986-87— Gordon C. Winston

Chapter 12: The Necessary Revolution in Financial Accounting— Gordon C. Winston

Chapter 13: Why Are Capital Costs Ignored by Nonprofit Organizations and What Are the Prospects for Change?— Gordon C. Winston

Part 5: Conclusion

Chapter 14: The Next Frontier in Higher Education Economics— Michael S. McPherson, Morton Owen Schapiro, and Gordon C. Winston

Index