Do research universities recession-proof their regions? Evidence from state flagship college towns
利用合成双重差分模型，研究了美国州旗舰大学所在县在三次经济衰退中的失业率韧性，发现2008-09年有显著韧性，但2020年因疫情校园关闭而韧性消失。
Abstract Using synthetic difference-in-differences models, we study whether US counties containing state flagship universities experienced resiliency via lower unemployment rates during the past three US recessions. We find an insignificant effect for the 2001 recession and a large resiliency effect for the 2008–09 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.