Posner on the Economics of College and University Rankings

Asked:

The rankings raise several interesting economic questions: the effect of rankings on information costs, in general and with particular reference to higher education; the manipulability of rankings by the colleges themselves; the effect of the rankings on education; and why U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings, though fiercely criticized by prominent universities (such as Stanford), face little competition.

And answered by Judge Posner on The Becker-Posner Blog. -- Joe Hodnicki