Program Description: This public policy conference followed on the heels of an LEC Research Roundtable where commissioned original papers had been presented on: “For-Profit Education: Economic and Historical Perspectives,” “The Accreditation Process,” “Costs of Higher Education and the Government’s Role as it Relates to Higher Education and Consumers.”
The first day was an Attorneys General staff workshop on foundational issues with limited attendance. The second day was open to the public and was a discussion of competition in the higher education market, the identification of obstacles to robust competition, and comparison of the diverse and competing higher education models. The for-profit model of education, the not-for profit model, the effect of subsidies on the system, and market failures were all addressed.
Introduction to the Economics of Higher Education
Speakers:
Karen M. Czarnecki, Director of Education, Law & Economics Center
Henry N. Butler, Dean and Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Richard K. Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus and Director, Epstein Professor in Health Law & Policy, Ohio University
Property Rights and Governance in Higher Education
Speakers:
Karen M. Czarnecki, Director of Education, Law & Economics Center
Henry N. Butler, Dean and Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Richard K. Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus and Director, Epstein Professor in Health Law & Policy, Ohio University
Innovation and Competition
Speaker:
Richard K. Vedder
Student Loans and the Cost Spiral in Higher Education
Speaker:
Todd J. Zywicki, Executive Director, Law & Economics Center and George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
The Government’s Role in Higher Education
Panel:
Richard K. Vedder
Joshua C. Hall
Jane S. Shaw, Member, Board of Directors, John William Pope Center for Higher Education, Education Policy
Anne D. Neal, President, American Council of Trustees and Alumni
Moderator:
Todd J. Zywicki
Challenges to Higher Education Today: Cost and Quality Issues
Panel:
Roger E. Meiners, Goolsby-Rosenthal Endowed Chair in Law and Economics, Department of Economics, University of Texas at Arlington
Scott E. Masten, Professor of Business and Economics and Public Policy, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Daniel D. Polsby, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Todd J. Zywicki
Moderator:
Michael E. Debow: Professor of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University
Luncheon Address: The Future of Higher Education
Speakers:
Richard Bishirjian, President and Professor of Government at Yorktown University
Brian Shull, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Protection in Higher Education
Speakers:
Michael E. Debow
Jayme S. Lemke, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Director, Academic and Student Programs, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
David A. Hyman, H. Ross and Helen Workman Chiar in Law, and Director, Epstein Program in Health Law and Policy, University of Illinois College of Law
Alexander T. Tabarrok, Bratley J. Madden Chair in Economics, George Mason University
Moderator:
Joshua C. Hall