"America's educational system excels in at least one area: university-based research. Why? Miguel Urquiola, an economist of education, argues that the key is that the United States takes a free market approach to education. Urquiola begins by showing how dominant American universities are in...

Around 1870 the U.S. had no research universities of note, while today it accounts for the largest number in the world. Many accounts attribute this transformation to events surrounding World War II. In contrast, this paper traces its origins to reforms that began in the 1870s. We first explain...