Are small town colleges going extinct?

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

NPR.

Wailin Wong (0:06)

Hey, Robert, looks like you're packing a lunch there.

Robert Smith (0:09)

It is September, school is back in session, and I want to make sure my kid has a healthy and informative lunch.

Wailin Wong (0:15)

Informative, you say? Wait a minute, did you tuck a copy of the beige book in there? I can see it sticking out of the lunchbox.

Robert Smith (0:24)

Okay, the beige book is my favorite obscure government document about the regional economies in the United States. And yes, it makes for great reading in the lunchroom.

Wailin Wong (0:33)

I suppose your child can always trade it with the other kids for something more delicious.

Robert Smith (0:37)

Ooh, like the monthly retail sales report, or the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.

Wailin Wong (0:43)

I mean, those are all the rage among Gen Alpha, but do they have their own awards show?

Robert Smith (0:49)

Hmm. It's the Beige Awards, our eight times a year salute to the art and science of telling stories about the economy. I'm Robert Smith.

Wailin Wong (1:01)

And I'm Wayland Wong. There are storms brewing in the economy right now, and we will give awards to the Beige Book Anecdotes with the most accurate forecasts.

Robert Smith (1:10)

Will it be workers demanding more money, or the rich wanting to pay fewer taxes?

Wailin Wong (1:16)

Or will it be the economic hurricane bearing down on college towns? The winners, after the break.

Robert Smith (1:25)

It is always good to remind everyone how this award show works. There are 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve system. Each one studies their local economy and brings back little stories of what they see. They publish them in the document known as the Beige Book, and we give awards to the very best stories.

Wailin Wong (1:41)

We always start with the runners up. Our third place award today goes to the Dallas Fed. In the Beige Book, Dallas employers were talking about how some workers were demanding more money. The quote, Robert?

Robert Smith (1:53)

One contact noted job candidates asking for San Francisco wages.

Wailin Wong (1:59)

Ooh la la, I love that as a shorthand for a worker who wants a raise. Razoroni, the San Francisco treat. Put that in your lunchbox, Robert.

Robert Smith (2:08)

It is delicious, but you have to think, what will those workers demand next? Foggy mornings, cable cars?

Wailin Wong (2:14)

Let them eat sourdough, I say.

Robert Smith (2:17)

Meanwhile, in another rich city with high wages, the New York Fed gets our second place award. Why don't you read this one, Wayland?

Wailin Wong (2:25)

A contact noted that many prospective buyers of luxury properties in New York City shifted to the rental market following a proposed new tax on high value second homes.

Robert Smith (2:36)

This is the so-called Pied-a-Terre tax, and this is textbook economics. When you put a tax on something, people will consume less of it. In this case, if you tax owning second homes, people will rent those homes instead.

Wailin Wong (2:50)

Of course, that could then drive up rents.

Robert Smith (2:53)

San Francisco rents? The joke never ends.

Wailin Wong (2:55)

Ay, ay, ay. No, the jokes must end, Robert, because it is time for our big award. And this goes to a regional fed writing about higher education. The envelope, please.

And the beigey goes to the Boston Fed.

Robert Smith (3:19)

Coming to the stage is Riley Sullivan, lead policy analyst at the Boston Fed. We spoke on September 3rd. Congratulations, Riley. Have you prepared a speech?

Riley Sullivan (3:29)

No, unfortunately, I do not have a speech written, but I'm really honored to be back. Boston hasn't won since 2023, so we are thrilled to be receiving this award.

Robert Smith (3:40)

Well, you deserved it. Before we get to your entry in the Beige Book, I have to ask a critical question. Where did you go to college?

Riley Sullivan (3:47)

I went to Boston College.

Wailin Wong (3:49)

Ooh, a product of Massachusetts' famous higher education system, which as I understand it, is an economic force in the state.

Riley Sullivan (3:57)

You're absolutely right that Massachusetts, as well as a lot of the other New England states, are really heavily reliant on higher education for employment relative to the rest of the country.

Wailin Wong (4:10)

Robert, please read Riley's winning Beige Book entry.

Robert Smith (4:14)

Education contacts noted a moderate slowdown in activity as one Massachusetts college closed recently and another reversed expansion plans and trimmed head counts in response to declining enrollments. And later on the Beige Book, it says, the outlook for higher education appeared increasingly pessimistic.