Calvert Jump, Robert ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2967-512X and Scavette, Adam (2025) Do research universities recession proof their regions? Evidence from state flagship college towns. Journal of Economic Geography (JOEG). ISSN 1468-2702 (Print), 1468-2710 (Online) (In Press)

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Abstract

Using synthetic differences-in-differences models, we study whether U.S. counties containing state flagship universities experienced resiliency via lower unemployment rates during the past three U.S. recessions. We find an insignificant effect for the 2001 recession and a large resiliency effect for the 2008-2009 recession. However, counties with flagship universities faced higher unemployment rates during the 2020 recession, and were therefore less resilient to the Covid-19 recession than other counties. These results support the hypothesis that stable consumption demand for non-tradables drives resiliency, which was absent during the 2020 recession when most university campuses were closed to students due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Do not confuse with deposited PEFGA Working Paper sharing the same title. https://gala.gre.ac.uk/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View&eprintid=47059 - MP
Uncontrolled Keywords:	regional business cycles, unemployment, research universities, regional resilience
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Greenwich Business School Greenwich Business School > Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (PEGFA) Journal of Economic Literature Classification > Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (PEGFA) Greenwich Business School > School of Accounting, Finance and Economics
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2025 13:54
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46949

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