Author Profile

Richard K. Vedder

Richard K. Vedder is Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Economics at Ohio University; and he is the Founding Director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, D.C. A prominent voice in current movements for reform of higher education, Vedder served on the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education and is the author of Going Broke By Degree: Why College Costs Too Much.

Articles by Richard K. Vedder

Mar 5, 2021 · Richard K. Vedder

The Edifice Complex Is a Threat to University Budgets

According to one recent estimate, American colleges in the last few years, in a period of extraordinary enrollment decline, have added 70 million square feet of new instruction and research…

Sep 16, 2020 · Richard K. Vedder

Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans

A recent defense of student loans by Jason Delisle of the American Enterprise Institute is, uncharacteristically for him, off-base. He defends the federal student loan program, which he correctly notes…

Mar 4, 2020 · Richard K. Vedder

American Higher Education: Beset with Problems, but Solutions Exist

Editor’s note: This is an abridged transcript of a speech Richard Vedder gave at a Martin Center luncheon on January 30, 2020. I will concentrate today on the economics of…

Dec 11, 2019 · Richard K. Vedder

New Research Shows Federal Student Aid Is Worse than We Thought

For years I have railed against the dysfunctional federal student loan program. The availability of cheap federal student loans has enabled universities to increase tuition fees aggressively, helping fund an…

Mar 6, 2019 · Richard K. Vedder

‘Free College:’ A Better Approach

Two facts about colleges stand out. First, they are largely (some argue almost entirely) a “private” good; that is to say, the benefits from college attendance accrue mainly to the…

Oct 19, 2018 · Richard K. Vedder

Answering the Perennial Question: Why Does College Cost So Much?

Last month, Amanda Ripley, writing for The Atlantic, asked a good question: why does higher education in the United States cost significantly more than in every other OECD nation except…

May 2, 2018 · Richard K. Vedder

Mitch Daniels Has the Right Stuff for Purdue

Higher education does not produce many flashy, innovating entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Peter Thiel, or Elon Musk. The non-profit, highly subsidized, and low-incentive culture that universities operate in…

Jan 17, 2018 · Richard K. Vedder

Master’s Degrees in Janitorial Science?

There has been mounting evidence that the financial payoff from the traditional bachelor’s degree is declining, particularly for men. For example, Census Bureau data suggest that, from 2005 to 2016,…

Oct 7, 2016 · Richard K. Vedder

Is Underemployment of Recent College Grads a Serious Problem?

For decades, the American higher education establishment was able to sell the idea that promoting college was sound policy because it seemed that nearly all graduates found good, high-paying jobs.…

Aug 10, 2016 · Richard K. Vedder

Are College Presidents Paid Too Much?

In a typical week, I get four or five inquiries from media relating to some higher education issue. Five years ago, perhaps five or ten percent of those inquiries related…