The Value of Signalling Is That It's Hard to Do It Allacart

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You'd think this would be a time when people are wondering about whether the tuitionis worth it, where people could offer some institutional alternatives to to university life. But i worry that this system now is in a very unvirtuous kind of spiral. I don'ta yt. The problm i've always had with s. I'm more sympathetic to the signalling argument today than i was forty, 30, 20 years ago. It's a very expensive signal. Most systems are really finely caleated to produce what gave rise to them. There's no wey, well as you know why the system does what it does.

In this c750th (!) episode, Duke University's Michael Munger talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about whether the pandemic might create an opportunity for colleges and universities to experiment and innovate. Munger is Professor of Political Science, Economics and Public Policy at Duke. He believes "top" schools can emerge from the current period of uncertainty to thrive in the long run. The path for "second-tier" institutions could be more difficult. They will still face the challenges that existed before the pandemic: competition from online classes and a shrinking pool of new applicants ready to pay high tuition bills.