Performance funding in higher education is intended to incentivize increased degree production at American colleges and universities by linking state funds directly to institutional outcomes. However, many critics suggest that such funding arrangements create systems of “winners and losers” by rewarding some institutions over others. Using a difference-in-difference methodology, this article explores the impact of performance funding on state appropriations and investigates the heterogeneous treatment effects across institution types. I find that performance funding consistently benefits high-resource institutions and imposes financial burdens on low-resource institutions. The theory of social construction and policy design illuminates the findings.

中文翻译：

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高等教育绩效资金的财务收益和负担

高等教育中的绩效资金旨在通过将国家资金直接与机构成果联系起来，以激励美国大学和学院提高学位程度。但是，许多批评家认为，这种供资安排通过奖励某些机构胜过其他机构来创建“赢家和输家”系统。本文使用差异法，探讨了绩效资金对国家拨款的影响，并研究了跨机构类型的异质性待遇效果。我发现绩效资金始终使高资源机构受益，并给低资源机构带来财务负担。社会建设和政策设计理论阐明了这一发现。