Jeffrey R. Brown, Caroline M. Hoxby, How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education, National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report, The University of Chicago Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780226201832. Pages: 410.

The recent financial crisis had a profound effect on both public and private universities, which faced shrinking endowments, declining charitable contributions, and reductions in government support. American universities responded to these stresses in different ways. This volume explores how various practices at institutions of higher education, such as the drawdown of endowment resources, the awarding of financial aid, and spending on research, responded to the financial crisis. The studies examine universities as economic organizations that operate in a complex institutional and financial environment. The authors examine the role of endowments in university finances and the interaction of spending policies, asset allocation strategies, and investment opportunities, demonstrating that universities’ behaviour can be modelled using economic principles.

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