Competition, Selectivity and Innovation in the Higher Educational Market

Lynne Pepall and Dan Richard

No 782, Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University from Department of Economics, Tufts University

Abstract: Recent innovations in digital learning and web-based technologies have enable scalability in educational services that has previously not been feasible presenting a potential disruption of traditional higher education markets. This paper explores the impact of these innovations in vertically differentiated market with network externalities. Students differ in their ability to benefit from educational services. We describe how selective and non-selective institutions compete for students through tuition price and admission criteria and consider how free non-credentialed educational services (MOOCs) affect the market equilibrium. Our model also helps explain why selective institutions are frequently also the proprietors of MOOCs.

Keywords: Higher Education; Vertical Differentiation; Network Effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D43 I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-cse and nep-edu
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://ase.tufts.edu/economics/documents/papers/2014/sequentialInnovation.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Competition, Selectivity and Innovation in the Higher Educational Market (2015)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0782

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University from Department of Economics, Tufts University Medford, MA 02155, USA.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Marcus Weir ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).