This is a linkpost for https://sahajsharda.substack.com/p/break-up-the-elite-college-seats?s=w
Elite colleges hoard seats, fix prices, and capture government aid. Even worse, they increasingly produce shoddy research that can't be replicated, and the research that can be replicated often isn't particularly groundbreaking.
Breaking up elite colleges to fix anti-competitive conduct and the basic research bottleneck is a super high leverage solution for longterm progress. I'll be writing more about these ideas going forward, but I just wanted to introduce myself and my substack with this forum post.
Sounds reasonable. However, a better long-term strategy seems to be complete privatization. I.e. to remove the subsidies and tax breaks. I think Brian Caplan would support this strategy (see his book on the education system).
One interesting thing: when you look at the “best” colleges for specific subjects say 80 years ago it seems like there was more heterogeneity and small colleges with some specialty. Today the best colleges are all “the best” at every subject.