Miguel urciola is an American writer and professor. He argues that the system of university funding has its flaws. But, he says, it can be a good thing if wealthy people give for the common good.
We think of them as intellectual enclaves and the surest route to a better life. But U.S. colleges also operate like firms, trying to differentiate their products to win market share and prestige points. In the first episode of a special series, we ask what our chaotic system gets right — and wrong. (Part 1 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)