Economic Perspectives on Higher Education Policy

Catalog description

This course explores contemporary issues in higher education policy from economic perspectives. Each class will focus on a particular policy issue within higher education and work to understand how economists approach these issues. Policy topics include high school to college transitions, college access and success, student debt and financial aid policy, returns to education, and labor market transitions. Students should come away from the course with (1) an understanding of critical policy issues in higher education (2) economic approaches to analyzing higher education policy and (3) economic theory and empirical evidence supporting or discrediting policies in higher education. Prior course-taking in introductory statistics or causal inference is helpful but not necessary.