Revenue, cost, tuition, and scholarship data at private liberal arts colleges from 2003–2013 are used to estimate how each college's net revenue per student varies with student enrollment. Our empirical specification assumes that colleges simultaneously pick their optimal net tuition and cost of instruction. The estimates allow us to identify the enrollment level that maximizes the return on the college's provision of educational services. Thirty-seven percent of the colleges have enrollments within one standard deviation of their profit maximizing enrollment. Another 11% are more than one standard deviation above the profit maximizing level; they increase access to students but not revenue. Compared to the profit maximizing colleges, the institutions with enrollments beyond their profit maximum have stronger endowments and enroll more low-income students. Although no schools were below their shut-down enrollment, 13% were within one standard deviation of their minimum enrollment and may be vulnerable to tuition revenue shock.

中文翻译：

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文理学院是否使利润最大化？

私立文理学院 2003 年至 2013 年的收入、成本、学费和奖学金数据用于估计每所大学每名学生的净收入如何随学生入学人数而变化。我们的实证规范假设大学同时选择最佳的净学费和教学成本。这些估计使我们能够确定使学院提供教育服务的回报最大化的入学水平。37% 的大学的招生人数与利润最大化招生人数相差一个标准差。另外 11% 比利润最大化水平高出一个以上的标准差；它们增加了接触学生的机会，但没有增加收入。与追求利润最大化的大学相比，招生人数超过其最高利润的机构拥有更强的禀赋，并招收更多的低收入学生。尽管没有学校低于停课招生人数，但 13% 的学校在其最低招生人数的一个标准偏差内，并且可能容易受到学费收入冲击的影响。