While there is wide agreement that leaders matter, little is known regarding the role that human capital plays in determining who becomes one. We exploit unique attributes of the higher education industry to examine if training and academic ability affect the placement of university presidents within the research hierarchy of U.S. institutions.…

We examine whether there is discernable variation in the matriculation patterns of low-income students at public flagship institutions around changes in institutional financial-aid policies that target resident, low-income students with need-based aid. Overall, our results suggests that need is not being met on the extensive margin and that…

Administrative skill is essential to organizational effectiveness. Yet, few studies examine how human capital investments over a career affect selection into administration. We use panel data for economists to estimate the probability of choosing administration over a pure academic track. The results show that, while research-specific human…

The Pell grant program is the largest federal program for college students, with support to over three million students at more than 6000 institutions. A prominent question in public debate is whether Pell grants tend to be appropriated by universities through increases in tuition--consistent with what is known as the Bennett hypothesis. Based on…

Few studies examine whether financial aid affects college retention. This paper uses University of Oregon data to examine financial aid's affect on retention net of uniquely detailed enrollee attributes and conditioned on unobserved enrollee attributes identified by jointly modeling retention and enrollment. The results show that need- and…

Empirically models and tests role of merit and need in the offer, level, and packaging of non-need-based subsidized and unsubsidized aid at large public university. Finds that provision of each aid type depends on need, merit, and the discretion of financial aid office that adjusts aid package to account for the observed self-selection of student…

Two separate empirical analyses use time-series data for the University of Oregon to estimate and compare the responsiveness of applicants and enrollees to variations in the net price. Results show that prior studies may understate student price responsiveness. Finds that elasticity estimates differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Suggests…