The elapsed time taken to earn a Ph.D. in economics is analyzed with data from 620 (of about 950) 1996-97 Ph.D.s. The median is 5.3 years. A duration model indicates that those students at several of the most highly regarded programs, those supported by no-work fellowships, and those holding a...

The market for undergraduate education has many similarities to an arms race. A school's position - relative to other schools - determines its success in attracting students and student quality. Its position, in turn, is largely determined by the size of its student subsidies, the difference...