A Business Contrarian's Take On Harvard
The YouTube video embedded above is from Michael Girdley, who is an entrepreneur who speaks frequently on the declining value of an MBA degree and whose videos often cover the rise and fall of well-known brands. In this case, he takes on Harvard. At 12:48, he offers a new take on Harvard and other elite schools' selectivity: As the 1980s happened, Harvard acceptance rate went from nearly 20% down to 4%. In economics, we refer to this thing as a Veblen good. I double-checked his selectivity numbers. According to AI, During the 1970s, Harvard University's undergraduate acceptance rate hovered around 15% to 20%. This is significantly higher than today's hyper-competitive acceptance rates (which currently sit at roughly 3% to 4%), but it still made Harvard one of the most selective institutions in the United States at the time. Also, according to AI, A Veblen good is a luxury item for which demand increases as its price rises, defying the standard economic law of...