Can online learning bend the higher education cost curve?

David Deming, Claudia Goldin, Lawrence Katz and Noam Yuchtman

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We examine whether online learning technologies have led to lower prices in higher education. Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, we show that online education is concentrated in large for-profit chains and less-selective public institutions. We find that colleges with a higher share of online students charge lower tuition prices. We present evidence of declining real and relative prices for full-time undergraduate online education from 2006 to 2013. Although the pattern of results suggests some hope that online technology can "bend the cost curve" in higher education, the impact of online learning on education quality remains uncertain.

JEL-codes: D83 I22 I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-05
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (47)

Published in American Economic Review, May, 2015, 105(5), pp. 496-501. ISSN: 0002-8282

Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/91510/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Can Online Learning Bend the Higher Education Cost Curve? (2015)
Working Paper: Can Online Learning Bend the Higher Education Cost Curve? (2015)
Working Paper: Can Online Learning Bend the Higher Education Cost Curve? (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:ehl:lserod:91510

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().