How Do U.S. News Rankings Affect the Financial Resources of Public Colleges?

In The Power of Information: How Do U.S. News Rankings Affect the Financial Resources of Public Colleges? (NBER Working Paper No. 12941) Ginger Zhe Jin and Alex Whalley reach three main conclusions:

1. USNWR coverage causes colleges to increase educational and general expenditures per student.
2. These expenditure responses are funded by a 6.5% increase in state appropriations per student, but tuition revenue does not respond.
3. The state appropriation response to USNWR exposure is larger the larger the pre-college age population, voter turnout and USNWR newsstand sales are in a state.

The authors write "our results suggest that, in addition to a consumer response, the publication of quality rankings may influence the provision of quality through a political channel."  -- Joe Hodnicki