Making a Profit Doesn't Make You a Villain

In today's Pope Center Clarion Call, Hillsdale economics professor Gary Wolfram discusses the recent study on for-profit higher education published by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. He finds that the authors have correctly identified the factor that makes the for-profits efficient, namely that their incentives are aligned with the interests of students. Being "non-profit" may sound lovely to those who have been raised with what Ludwig von Mises called the anticapitalist mentality, but non-profit status doesn't mean that self-interest disappears. The quest for profit drives all kinds of businesses, including educational ones, to make the best use of resources.