Institutional structure, finance, and race in higher education: Public-private sectoral differences

This paper has examined and extended the range of economic implications implied by existing differences in the underlying institutional structure of higher education. Along the lines of Lindsay (1976), Sisk (1981), and Weisbrod (1977) it was hypothesized that public-private intersectoral and intrasectoral differences in the dependence on various sources of finance give rise to systematic differences in the input-output mix of institutions and lead to corresponding differences in blacks' relative access to and success in higher education. Empirical evidence was offered in support of the contention that blacks relative to whites are more likely to gain access to higher education through the public sector, but once entered, they (relative to whites) face a greater likelihood of success in the private compared to the public sector. Copyright Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 1987