Historically Black Schools Pay More to Issue Bonds, Researchers Find

Presented by Mendoza College of Business

A new study from the University of Notre Dame found that historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) pay higher fees to issue tax-exempt bonds than non-HBCUs. And the evidence points to racial discrimination as the cause.

This was the finding of Paul Gao, Viola D. Hank Associate Professor of Finance at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, and co-authors Casey Dougal of Drexel University, William J. Mayew of Duke University and Christopher A. Parsons of the University of Washington. The researchers published their findings in “What’s in a (School) Name? Racial Discrimination in Higher Education Bond Markets,” forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Economics.