Markets, governance, and university priorities: Evidence on undergraduate education and research

I investigate the effects of differences in market context and governance
arrangements on undergraduate education and separately budgeted research at both
public and private universities. Public universities faced with little competition and
universities that rely heavily on government subsidies relative to tuition tend to have
larger undergraduate enrollments, fewer small classes, lower graduation rates, and
are more likely to engage in separately budgeted research than universities with the
opposite characteristics. In addition, Catholic universities offer fewer small classes
but have higher graduation rates than independent private universities, while other
church-affiliated universities spend less on separately budgeted research. (23 p. )