The Peculiarities of the US College System

1min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Key takeaways

Transcript

Episode notes

The US higher education system has astronomical levels of tuition
European public universities are often free or have price controls
The US relies on chaos and market forces to configure its systems
European countries tend to take deliberate and rational control of higher education
Earliest European universities were typically run by the church and later taken over by governments

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.”)