ERIC Number: ED586519
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Sep
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
University Endowment Growth: Assessing Policy Proposals
Milton, Ross T.; Ehrenberg, Ronald G.
Cornell Higher Education Research Institute
The growth of college and university endowments, particularly those of elite schools, have drawn the attention of policymakers and pundits. Using a decomposition of the growth of endowments between 1991 and 2010 we simulate the effects of three prominent proposed policies had they been implemented in 1991 on endowment payouts through 2010: (1) a minimum spending rule, (2) removing full income tax deductibility of donations, and (3) taxing total endowment sizes beyond a given size. We find that a minimum spending rule increases the average size of endowment payouts for all quartiles of the endowment distribution in nearly all years of the sample period and has a modestly larger relative impact on richer schools. Removing tax deductibility decreases endowment payouts with its effect increasing over time. It has a larger relative impact on schools with smaller endowments than on richer schools.
Descriptors: Endowment Funds, Program Proposals, Universities, Colleges, Higher Education, Educational Finance, Financial Policy, Taxes, Simulation
Cornell Higher Education Research Institute. ILR-Cornell University 273 Ives Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. Tel: 607-255-4424; Web site: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cheri
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Cornell Higher Education Research Institute (CHERI)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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