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Why Does College Cost So Much?
Much of what is written about colleges and universities ties rapidly rising tuition to dysfunctional behavior in the academy. Common targets of dysfunction include prestige games among universities, gold plated amenities, and bloated administration. This book offers a different view. To explain rising college cost, the authors place the higher education industry firmly within the larger economic history of the United States. The trajectory of college cost is similar to cost behavior in many other industries, and this is no coincidence. Higher education is a personal service that relies on highly educated labor. A technological trio of broad economic forces has come together in the last thirty years to cause higher education costs, and costs in many other industries, to rise much more rapidly than the inflation rate. The main culprit is economic growth itself.
This finding does not mean that all is well in American higher education. A college education has become less reachable to a broad swathe of the American public at the same time that the market demand for highly educated people has soared. This affordability problem has deep roots. The authors explore how cost pressure, the changing wage structure of the US economy, and the complexity of financial aid policy combine to reduce access to higher education below what we need in the 21st century labor market.
This book is a call to calm the rhetoric of blame and to instead find policies that will increase access to higher education while preserving the quality of our colleges and universities.
This finding does not mean that all is well in American higher education. A college education has become less reachable to a broad swathe of the American public at the same time that the market demand for highly educated people has soared. This affordability problem has deep roots. The authors explore how cost pressure, the changing wage structure of the US economy, and the complexity of financial aid policy combine to reduce access to higher education below what we need in the 21st century labor market.
This book is a call to calm the rhetoric of blame and to instead find policies that will increase access to higher education while preserving the quality of our colleges and universities.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2010
About the author
Robert B. Archibald
6 books1 followerBob is Chancellor Professor of Economics, Emeritus at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia. As well as being a professor, he went to the dark side for stints in administration as the chair of the department, the director of the public policy program, and the interim dean of he faculty. He was always happy to be welcomed back to the faculty. He published three books on the economics of higher education. In retirement he started writing novels. His first novel, Roundabout Revenge, was published in 2019, and sequel, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, will be published in 2020.
Bob lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Nancy. The Archibalds have two grown children and three grandchildren.
Bob lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Nancy. The Archibalds have two grown children and three grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 29, 2012
This is an important book. The authors take there best shot at answering the question they ask. The answers boil down to two parts.
The more important part is cost disease. Personal services requiring large amounts of highly skilled labor have tended to go up relative to all other things, and dentistry and college have followed a similar path. The exceptions are those services where technology has meant that fewer highly-skilled person hours are required today than in years past, e.g., stock brokers because technology means we can now do a lot of our own buying and selling.
The less important part is that college is not quite as expensive as it seems, because of the growing disparity between list price and actual price paid (less scholarships, financial aid, etc.).
One limitation of the book is that the text is very heavily explanatory, and the authors have lots to say about "Why?" and much less to say about "So what should we do about it?" and what they do have to say isn't so deeply developed or so likely to have influence. However, we must understand "Why?" before we can take any action, and this book really helps with that problem.
The more important part is cost disease. Personal services requiring large amounts of highly skilled labor have tended to go up relative to all other things, and dentistry and college have followed a similar path. The exceptions are those services where technology has meant that fewer highly-skilled person hours are required today than in years past, e.g., stock brokers because technology means we can now do a lot of our own buying and selling.
The less important part is that college is not quite as expensive as it seems, because of the growing disparity between list price and actual price paid (less scholarships, financial aid, etc.).
One limitation of the book is that the text is very heavily explanatory, and the authors have lots to say about "Why?" and much less to say about "So what should we do about it?" and what they do have to say isn't so deeply developed or so likely to have influence. However, we must understand "Why?" before we can take any action, and this book really helps with that problem.
January 12, 2011
There's nobody to shoot! The authors claim that there are no villains to rising college costs, but rather that such costs are attributable to larger economic forces, i.e., "cost disease." The authors make a valid, if depressing argument. Good luck trying to save for your kids college education when costs rise faster than inflation. Very heavy on the economic analysis, yet surprisingly readable.
August 23, 2012
I found this book courtesy of the president of Westmont College - it is a thoughtful treatment of an emotional issue. It covers a lot of ground and makes some attempt at suggesting ways to solve the college cost problem.
November 27, 2023
Doesn't impact social, cultural inertia towards college attendance
I am a college graduate raised by parents who expected me to complete college and graduate school. I married a college graduate, and we raised 2 children who expected to graduate from college. Yes, college costs more for my children than it did for my parents. Even if the book completely explained problems and solutions to high college costs succinctly, that would not change my attitude towards college and its importance one iota. Thanks for explaining some of the logistical hurdles that come with college. Nevertheless, I still have the same attitude towards education that I had prior to reading this book. If going to a certain school costs too much, go somewhere less expensive to prepare for your dream graduate school. Attending community college is a more viable option for many.
I am a college graduate raised by parents who expected me to complete college and graduate school. I married a college graduate, and we raised 2 children who expected to graduate from college. Yes, college costs more for my children than it did for my parents. Even if the book completely explained problems and solutions to high college costs succinctly, that would not change my attitude towards college and its importance one iota. Thanks for explaining some of the logistical hurdles that come with college. Nevertheless, I still have the same attitude towards education that I had prior to reading this book. If going to a certain school costs too much, go somewhere less expensive to prepare for your dream graduate school. Attending community college is a more viable option for many.
September 20, 2017
This provides a very clear explanation of why the cost of college has outpaced many other costs. For me an added interest is that the same rationale applies to the disproportionately high cost of health care as well.
July 21, 2014
Media overemphasizes the college cost "crisis" and finally, we get an explanation of exactly what this means. In this book, Archibald explains how college costs isn't really a "crisis". It's a problem, but it's a lot less serious than the media makes it out to be. While we're all so concentrated on the types of costs that are incendiary, such as the salaries of college football coaches, we fail to see exactly where these price fluctuations come from. Constant rhetoric in the media are constantly creating fallacious arguments when dealing with percentages are rampant. Media doesn't give justice to the overall picture of the economy and its effects.
"Why Does College Cost so Much?" gives a compelling argument that college isn't becoming less affordable across the board. In fact, it does the opposite, it claims that based on the median income of an American, it's becoming "more" affordable. This is due to the advancement of the economy and the increase of the median income. Archibald does explain how it is becoming less affordable for lower income Americans due to the increasing income gap and explains how public institutions and the state legislatures can help make it more accessible. The arguments that the book presents include cost disease and technological innovation. This book paints the entire picture with respect to the economy without overarching into the fallacies that economists can usually fall into.
"Why Does College Cost so Much?" gives a compelling argument that college isn't becoming less affordable across the board. In fact, it does the opposite, it claims that based on the median income of an American, it's becoming "more" affordable. This is due to the advancement of the economy and the increase of the median income. Archibald does explain how it is becoming less affordable for lower income Americans due to the increasing income gap and explains how public institutions and the state legislatures can help make it more accessible. The arguments that the book presents include cost disease and technological innovation. This book paints the entire picture with respect to the economy without overarching into the fallacies that economists can usually fall into.
October 8, 2016
I am greatly interested in the subject but thought the writer's "aerial approach" missed the forest for the trees and I felt like he was determined to absolve the universities from the beginning.
He calls it an aerial approach but to me it was chasing one red herring after another. So many pages devoted to the increase in dental care fees as it relates to tuition.
There is no attempt at all to open up the books of universities and see what they bring in versus what they spend. That is where the crux is.
And he never addresses the billions and billions of dollars the colleges have tucked away in endowments that would alone reduce tuition to almost nil. Or he millions that come into the big football and basketball schools through those that programs.
The style of writing is roundabout and conversational to the extreme that it could be condensed to at least a quarter of its pages.
What I did learn were the exact tuition trends and more about the nature of grants and what students actually pay. I just don't feel he answered the title question at all or even offered substantial strategies to improve this in the future. He goes as far as insisting it is not a crisis and just consistent with the market, I.e. Dental fees.
He calls it an aerial approach but to me it was chasing one red herring after another. So many pages devoted to the increase in dental care fees as it relates to tuition.
There is no attempt at all to open up the books of universities and see what they bring in versus what they spend. That is where the crux is.
And he never addresses the billions and billions of dollars the colleges have tucked away in endowments that would alone reduce tuition to almost nil. Or he millions that come into the big football and basketball schools through those that programs.
The style of writing is roundabout and conversational to the extreme that it could be condensed to at least a quarter of its pages.
What I did learn were the exact tuition trends and more about the nature of grants and what students actually pay. I just don't feel he answered the title question at all or even offered substantial strategies to improve this in the future. He goes as far as insisting it is not a crisis and just consistent with the market, I.e. Dental fees.
October 11, 2011
This was assigned reading to me by Pitzer College, of which I am a trustee. It is somewhere between a PhD dissertation and an interesting article, stretched into a book. But if the authors were trying to make a public policy analysis, they missed out; prefering instead to explain and justify the increase in college tuition (which isn't quite as much as it seems when you factory in all the students who don't actually pay the sticker price, either because they have scholarships or loans). The book touches on some interesting questions -- how can we effeciently reduce the cost of education? Does online education (which is much cheaper) deliver a more efficient product, or a second rate product?
The authors show us that the increase in tuition isn't the result of fraud, waste and abuse. It really costs this much (again, taking into account the discount for those who pay less) to run a college. But they don't go any farther. They are number crunchers, but not thinkers.
The authors show us that the increase in tuition isn't the result of fraud, waste and abuse. It really costs this much (again, taking into account the discount for those who pay less) to run a college. But they don't go any farther. They are number crunchers, but not thinkers.
March 12, 2013
A very solid exploration of college and university economics. The authors cover the ground very carefully (with one exception; see below) and clearly, bringing data and sober analysis to each topic. Archibald and Feldman emphasize Baumol's cost disease as the reason for academic pricing, which is quite persuasive. They also recommend we stop thinking of colleges in crisis, a more difficult but ultimately reasonable argument.
The book concludes with two interesting recommendations, one to simplify student aid by creating a national version of Georgia's HOPE scholarship.
The book's biggest weakness is downplaying the adjunct boom. Archibald and Feldman argue that costs are high primarily because of what it takes to compensate faculty... by which they mean full-time, tenure-track instructors. The steady + persistent decline of that population surely puts pressure on campus cost structures. I wish they'd addressed this key point.
The book concludes with two interesting recommendations, one to simplify student aid by creating a national version of Georgia's HOPE scholarship.
The book's biggest weakness is downplaying the adjunct boom. Archibald and Feldman argue that costs are high primarily because of what it takes to compensate faculty... by which they mean full-time, tenure-track instructors. The steady + persistent decline of that population surely puts pressure on campus cost structures. I wish they'd addressed this key point.
January 6, 2014
Two economists explain with great clarity how the rising cost of college is not due to some great inefficiency or dysfunction in higher education, nor to shrinking state support (though that is happening), but to the same macro economic forces that have fueled our growth as a high-tech society. A college education is more important than ever, and although reading this book doesn't make it more affordable for me and my kids, it sure helps to understand the reasons for it, and to point the way to remedies that could actually work.
June 25, 2015
Insightful and easy to read book to help understand why college costs so much. Though written by 2 economists, I believe the writing style is friendly to non-economists as well. This book challenges many ideas about why college is so expensive, and walks through a convincing argument for a different explanation. I thought it was organized logically and presented their case clearly.
October 17, 2016
Good, but laboured
I read this to get some insight into the costs of HE. The book delivered, but went in to more depth than was necessary for my purposes. Still, it us well researched and well written. Worthwhile.
I read this to get some insight into the costs of HE. The book delivered, but went in to more depth than was necessary for my purposes. Still, it us well researched and well written. Worthwhile.
September 10, 2012
Insightful and penetrating analysis. Should be required reading for anyone with an interest in higher education.
March 11, 2015
Case study. Reasons for costs which need to balance with needs for educated workers in labor force.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews