Bloomberg View:
Small colleges can save towns in middle America
14 November 2017
Other research confirms that the beneficial effect of universities isn't just correlation. A 2015 paper by economist Shimeng Liu found that areas where the U.S. federal government made land grants to universities back in the 1860s have been flourishing in the 21st century. In other words, investing in universities was one of the most far-sighted moves that the government ever made. The effect appears to be worldwide. Looking at countries around the globe in a recent paper, economists Anna Valero and John Van Reenen find: Increases in the number of universities are positively associated with future growth…Doubling the number of universities per capita is associated with over 4% higher future GDP per capita. Furthermore, there appear to be positive spillover effects from universities to geographically close neighboring regions.