Economic Challenges in Higher Education

The last two decades have been a turbulent period for American higher education, with profound demographic shifts, gyrating salaries, and marked changes in the economy. While enrollments rose about 50% in that period, sharp increases in tuition and fees at colleges and universities provoke accusations of inefficiency, even outright institutional greed and irresponsibility. As the 1990s progress, surpluses in the academic labor supply may give way to shortages in many fields, but will there be enough new Ph.D.'s to go around? Drawing on the authors' experience as economists and educators, this book offers an accessible analysis of three crucial economic issues: the growth and composition of undergraduate enrollments, the supply of faculty in the academic labor market, and the cost of operating colleges and universities. The study provides valuable insights for administrators and scholars of education.

Charles T. Clotfelter, formerly vice chancellor, is professor of public policy studies and economics at the Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs at Duke University. Ronald G. Ehrenberg is the Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics at Cornell University. Malcolm Getz is associate professor of economics and associate provost for information science and technology at Vaderbilt University. John J. Siegfried is professor of economics at Vaderbilt University.