Despite a climate of fiscal scarcity, higher education institutions are making big investments in campus consumption amenities while reducing instructional expenditures and growing increasingly reliant on tuition revenue. Few empirical studies exist exploring why universities increasingly invest in these amenities; however, one compelling explanation is that in an increasingly competitive market universities use amenities as a means of attracting students. Using resource dependency theory, this article examines these investments through the lens of marketization of public services. A unique dataset of HEI investments in cultural consumption amenities from 2000 to 2016 is used to estimate the effect of investing in cultural consumption amenities on various student-level outcomes. The evidence suggests that consumption amenities investments are associated with an increase in the yield rate (the proportion of admitted students who choose to enroll in the institution) and a decrease in the percentage of students paying in-state tuition. Also, higher-value investments are associated with a modest increase in out-of-state tuition, a decrease in in-state and out-of-state fees, and an increase in SAT scores. Taken together, the findings suggest that cultural consumption amenities investments may help attract more lucrative students and students who are strongly considering enrolling (as indicated by their application).

尽管存在财政短缺的气氛，高等教育机构仍在对校园消费设施进行大量投资，同时减少教学支出并越来越依赖学费收入。很少有实证研究探讨大学为何越来越多地投资于这些设施；然而，一个令人信服的解释是，在竞争日益激烈的市场中，大学使用便利设施作为吸引学生的手段。本文运用资源依赖理论，从公共服务市场化的角度审视这些投资。HEI 2000 年至 2016 年文化消费设施投资的独特数据集用于估计文化消费设施投资对各种学生水平结果的影响。证据表明，消费便利设施投资与收益率（选择入读该机构的被录取学生的比例）和支付州内学费的学生比例下降有关。此外，更高价值的投资与州外学费的适度增加、州内和州外费用的减少以及 SAT 分数的增加有关。综上所述，调查结果表明，文化消费设施投资可能有助于吸引更多利润丰厚的学生和强烈考虑入学的学生（如他们的申请所示）。更高价值的投资与州外学费的适度增加、州内和州外费用的减少以及 SAT 分数的增加有关。综上所述，调查结果表明，文化消费设施投资可能有助于吸引更多利润丰厚的学生和强烈考虑入学的学生（如他们的申请所示）。更高价值的投资与州外学费的适度增加、州内和州外费用的减少以及 SAT 分数的增加有关。综上所述，调查结果表明，文化消费设施投资可能有助于吸引更多利润丰厚的学生和强烈考虑入学的学生（如他们的申请所示）。