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Higher Education Costs and the Production of Extension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2005

David N. Laband  and
Bernard F. Lentz
David N. Laband
Affiliation:
Forest Policy Center, School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
Bernard F. Lentz
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
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Abstract

Do cost considerations justify the current structure of production of extension services in which one or more providers exists in virtually all of the contiguous U.S. states? Provision of extension services has sizable cost implications for the host institutions. Yet, to our knowledge, there has been virtually no analysis of the impact of extension on higher education costs. Using academic year 1995–1996 data, we estimate a multiproduct cost function for 1,445 public institutions of higher education in the United States, including 65 that provide extension services. We find evidence of significant economies of scale with respect to the provision of extension services but no evidence of significant economies of scope between the provision of extension and the production of research, undergraduate education, or graduate education.

Keywords

costsextension serviceshigher educationmultiproduct cost functionI22L89
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , April 2005 , pp. 229 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2005

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