tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post7733650125822444641..comments2024-03-23T12:05:13.464-07:00Comments on Ideas: Why Are Law Schools ExpensiveDavid Friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-11457378988917597752013-01-11T04:00:57.580-08:002013-01-11T04:00:57.580-08:00V interesting ; reading rom the UK ; and not from ...V interesting ; reading rom the UK ; and not from a legal background but [now partially ] involved in Business School/Management Education .<br />Much the same analysis - other than the professional lock - applies to BSs , both in UK and in USA.<br />Richard KerleyRichardKerleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12251703217452599921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-32658984937545873072012-12-13T13:26:34.094-08:002012-12-13T13:26:34.094-08:00"the ABA recommends a student to faculty rati..."the ABA recommends a student to faculty ratio of no more than twenty and takes a ratio of thirty or more as presumptive evidence that the school does not meet the standards for accreditation." <br /><br /> I wonder if Harvard and Yale Law Schools in 1940 or 1960 would have met this standard. It might be fun to find out if pre-1970 law schools were all of such disgracefully low quality that they shouldn't have been accredited. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-52061236023875729262012-12-13T08:41:45.331-08:002012-12-13T08:41:45.331-08:00http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&...http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2729#comic<br /><br />I think this neatly summarizes all the current problems with higher education (even if not their causes)...and it is damn funny too.Tiborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06909198697863768859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-9585552522663851282012-12-13T08:35:57.658-08:002012-12-13T08:35:57.658-08:00C. Bella: I don't live in the US, so I cannot ...C. Bella: I don't live in the US, so I cannot say for sure but I've got the exact same feeling.<br /><br />There are often rants in Europe that paid university schooling does not work, they say "Look how the private schooling is disfunctional in the US and wrecks people's lives...we have to keep it funded by the state!". But they miss the fact that even though there are a lot of private schools in the US, the tuition heavily subsidized by the state which creates both wrong incentives to study and higher than free market prices of tuition:<br /><br />Everyone has a degree so you have to have it just not to look totally stupid and you don't care what they actually teach you....that is a major problem in Europe where there are a lot of countries with a de facto full state control over the university (and other levels) education with a very few private schools that actually only meet the market demand for the titles as the title inflation is so high (due to the fact that studying is almost costless and also the EU is politically pushing to increase the amount of university graduates - so most schools get easier) and really everyone needs it to have a chance of a decent job (which is often completely unrelated to the subject of study). Also since it is so cheap to study, not many people actually think it through and you have loads of graduates with philosophy degrees that are good for nothing outside of academia (for which a minor fraction the current number of graduates would suffice) and a shortage of technical degrees or degrees in natural sciences and mathematics. I talked with a girl from Hong Kong where the schooling market seems to be much less distorted and she said almost everyone there studies technical subjects since it will get them a better job and only a few do things like philosophy, sociology or film (which she does)...that seems to me to be a healthy system. But we did not go in too much detail on that subject so maybe there are some problems unknown to me there.<br /><br />The schooling market is so distorted by the central planning in Europe today that "all of the sudden" there is also a shortage of skilled craftsmen around (since almost everybody goes to universities)...and so the geniuses in the European commission have come up with a new plan - subsidizing these kind of schools and making advertisement campaigns - paid by taxpayers of course - in their support. <br />But what can you expects from people who now seriously suggest that it should be made a law in the whole union that young people after graduation are to be guaranteed employment by the government. They are fixing problems of central planning with even more central planning...oh well, I hope that that system just collapses fast enough, cause I don't see any other way to get to something more reasonable and I don't fancy spending my life in a stagnant or regressing society.Tiborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06909198697863768859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-71564356596918000362012-12-13T01:43:12.032-08:002012-12-13T01:43:12.032-08:00The ABA has done nothing to reduce the number of s...The ABA has done nothing to reduce the number of students entering law school. Many argue that the ABA has given accreditation to too many schools, which is part of the reason there are so many unemployed graduates. Even the worst schools with awful employment statistics and sky high tuition still find people to fill seats.<br /><br />More to the point, the cost of legal education is extremely high but the ability to fund this education is relatively easy to obtain. Student loans are practically given out to students by the federal government. A private loan can be had with the income one obtains from a part-time job. This ease in obtaining loans is not much different than the recent housing crisis subsidized loan issue.<br /><br />D. Friedman brings up some interesting points, specifically the interests of schools are misplaced due to US News rankings and the ABA. I don't see any meaningful changes until a crisis of the recent housing bubble occursC. Bellanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19727420.post-68350859895159593922012-12-12T19:14:10.597-08:002012-12-12T19:14:10.597-08:00It sounds like the ABA has done everything in its ...It sounds like the ABA has done everything in its power to restrict the supply of lawyers with costly barriers to entry. This makes the poor employment prospects you report all the more surprising, though. For now, fewer applications sounds like part of the solution -- facing insolvency, maybe law schools will have the gumption to push back against most egregious requirements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com