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College Curriculum, Diverging Selectivity, and Enrollment Expansion

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  • Michael Kaganovich
  • Xuejuan Su
Abstract
We analyze the impact of expansion of higher education on student outcomes in the context of competition among colleges which differentiate themselves horizontally by setting curricular standards. When public or economic pressures compel less selective colleges to lower their curricular demands, low-ability students benefit at the expense of medium-ability students. This reduces competitive pressure faced by more selective colleges, which therefore adopt more demanding curricula to better serve their most able students. This stylized model of curricular product differentiation in higher education offers an explanation for the diverging selectivity trends of American colleges. It also appears consistent with the U-shaped earnings growth profile we observe among college-educated workers in the U.S.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Kaganovich & Xuejuan Su, 2016. "College Curriculum, Diverging Selectivity, and Enrollment Expansion," CESifo Working Paper Series 6122, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6122
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ciprian Domnisoru & Ioana Cosmina Schiopu, 2021. "The Rise of For-Profit Higher Education: A General Equilibrium Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9134, CESifo.
    3. Pugatch, Todd & Thompson, Paul, 2022. "Excellence for all? University honors programs and human capital formation," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1112, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Taylor, Ryan C. & Liang, Xiaofan & Laubichler, Manfred D. & West, Geoffrey B. & Kempes, Christopher P. & Dumas, Marion, 2021. "Systematic shifts in scaling behavior based on organizational strategy in universities," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112604, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Zeky Murra-Anton, 2022. "Financial aid and early admissions at selective need-blind colleges," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(3), pages 833-870, October.
    6. Tampieri Alessandro, 2024. "University Admission: Is Achievement a Sufficient Criterion?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 24(3), pages 799-833.
    7. Joel HELLIER, 2023. "Increasing skill premium and education decisions: Higher intra-skilled inequality and lower inter-skill mobility," Working Papers 643, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    8. Ryan C Taylor & Xiaofan Liang & Manfred D Laubichler & Geoffrey B West & Christopher P Kempes & Marion Dumas, 2021. "Systematic shifts in scaling behavior based on organizational strategy in universities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, October.
    9. Limor Hatsor & Itzhak Zilcha, 2021. "Subsidizing heterogeneous higher education systems," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 23(2), pages 318-344, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    curricular standard; higher education; college selectivity; enrollment expansion; income distribution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets

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