Claudia Goldin: preference

Transcript context

…Networks. Why is there a sheepskin effect, then, which is quite strong? Because you could meet people there for three years and then just not finish. I don’t know what the numbers are for the sheepskin effects. I’m always very dubious of anything having to do with real signaling. In terms of sheepskin effects, I’m willing to read up on it, but I don’t know what it is. The networks are enormously important. Sometimes I look at my undergraduates, and I think, “I would just be such a better person if I could live with these people. These are the most accomplished people.” You would be able to listen to someone playing the cello. You would be listening to someone teaching you about Verdi operas. They’re just an incredible group of individuals. In some sense, it’s not the same networking that Teddy Roosevelt would have been able to do, or John Kennedy. It’s, instead, an ability to grasp just an enormous amount in a mere four years. I went to Cornell, which, of course, is an Ivy League school, too. I had a phenomenal experience, but nothing like I would have if I went to Harvard right now. That’s why I want to go back to college. [laughter] You’re there now, right? You get their classes.…

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