Asymmetrical Information Market Failure Triggered by the Chicago School's Profit Motive Paradigm: A Case Study of Virginia's Public Higher Education Market and Media Identification of Public Value Failure

This paper presents a case study examination of the Commonwealth of Virginia\'s public higher education market and the use of asymmetrical information flows between providers and consumers by college and university institutions to intentionally create market failures to maximize brand building through increased revenue collections via profit maximization behaviors. Existing economic research in the financial services market hold that asymmetry of information generates inefficient allocation of goods and subsequent identification of market failure conditions. Market failures can lead to tipping points which may result in public values failures as threats to human subsistence (i.e. food, clothing, education) and imperfect public information. Market failures resulting in public values failures warrant government intervention to correct market inefficiency and ensure pareto efficiency in the allocation of goods. Mandatory non-educational fees increase the cost to attend a post-secondary institution which subsequently aid in increased student debt and reduced access and affordability for low income classification groups thus exacerbating societal cleavages identified as public values failures. This research identifies the application of economic and public administration theory to construct a policy recommendation to mitigate asymmetrical information and improve pareto efficiency involving transactions in the public higher education market.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Public Administration

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Public Administration and Public Affairs

Department dc:contributor.department

Public and International Affairs

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Davis, Robert M.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Jones, Michael D.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Shareef, Reginald A. T.
• Roberts, Patrick S.

• Market failure
• public values failure
• mandatory non-educational fee
• altruistic democracy
• asymmetry of information
• public hig

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:1100

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/23281