Based on a disaggregate cross-country analysis, we investigate the performance of 10 public Swiss universities and 77 public German universities from 2001-2007. During this period the universities in both countries have faced two major reforms aimed at improving efficiency and productivity in...

Die Regelungen des "Hochschulfreiheitsgesetzes" zu Hochschulräten in Nordrhein-Westfalen werden erläutert und analysiert. Entgegen dem Namen des Gesetzes gewinnt der Staat durch die Hochschulräte eher an Einfluss hinsichtlich seiner Hochschulen. Insgesamt hängen die Hochschulräte ziemlich...

As concerns over growing levels of student loan debt continue to mount for both students and taxpayers, many have called for an improved accountability system in the U.S. higher education system. In this policy brief, I discuss the many flaws in our current system, and outline how a system known...

The structural reform becomes the most visible initiative of the Bologna process. However, today the reform serves as an umbrella for comprehensive reform processes in national systems of higher education. In Central and Eastern European countries the Bologna process is not only strongly...

Poor post-secondary education infrastructure and opportunities partly explain the low higher education rates in developing countries. This paper estimates the effect of a program that improved post-secondary education infrastructure by building many university campuses across Uruguay. Leveraging...

This paper studies the causal impacts of public universities on the outcomes of their marginally admitted students. I use administrative admission records spanning all 35 public universities in Texas, which collectively enroll 10 percent of American public university students, to systematically...

In most countries which experience structural transformation of their higher education system, a crucial goal of policy makers is to tie the amount of university public funding to their performance. This research analyzes the Russian performance-based funding (PBF) reform to provide a...

This paper studies the link between trade reforms and labor informality in Argentina using a long time series spanning the 1980–2001 period. We explore cross-section mechanisms, that operate at the industry level, and time-series mechanisms, that operate at a general equilibrium level. We...

The European higher education landscape has become increasingly integrated causing competition among universities that is no longer bound to national borders. In view of this development, the present paper investigates the relative efficiency of 450 European universities between 2011 and 2014....