Title: Workhorses of Opportunity: Regional Universities Increase Local Social Mobility (with Greg Howard).

Abstract: Regional public universities educate approximately 70 percent of college students at
four-year public universities and an even larger share of students from disadvantaged
backgrounds. They aim to provide opportunity for education and social mobility, in
part by locating near potential students. In this paper, we use the historical assignment
of normal schools and insane asylums (normal schools grew into regional universities
while asylums remain small) and data from Opportunity Insights to identify the effects

of regional universities on the social mobility of nearby children. Children in counties given a normal school get more education and have better economic and social

outcomes, especially lower-income children. For several key outcomes, we show this

effect is a causal effect on children, and not only selection on which children live near
universities.