10.24.25. Badger Football has historically been a cornerstone of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletics Department, yielding about $60 million in annual profits. The 2025 season is on track to be the program’s worst this century, marked by shutout losses and failures against ranked opponents, signaling a deepening crisis.
Higher Ed
The Economic Impact of Lowering NIH’s Budget and Indirect Cost Rate
9.17.25. Junjie Guo and Ananth Seshadri and Christopher Taber. Economic research finds that $10 million in NIH grant generates around 2.7 private sector patents with a market value of $20-$30 million.
UW-Madison Unbound
5.20.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this sixth, and final, report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we explore the internal and external constraints faced by UW-Madison and the reasons these constraints exist.
Is the Wisconsin Taxpayer Stingy?
5.6.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this fifth report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we addresses the question: Is the Wisconsin taxpayer rather ungenerous in funding higher education?
Administrative Intensity at UW-Madison
4.26.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this fourth report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we present measures of administrative intensity for UW-Madison and comparisons with peer institutions.
Is UW-Madison in Decline?
4.18.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this third report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we present a time series of undergraduate and graduate rankings of UW-Madison.
The Return to Majors at UW-Madison
4.9.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this second report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we estimate the value different majors at UW-Madison.
The Return to A Bachelor’s Degree from UW-Madison
4.3.24. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this first report in “The Economics of UW-Madison” white paper series we estimate the value of a UW-Madison bachelor’s degree.
On the Allocation of Resources Between UW-Madison and UWM
7.20.21. Ananth Seshadri. Should we reallocate resources away from UW-Madison to UWMilwaukee (UWM) to equalize per student state appropriations? This report brings the best available evidence to bear and finds no basis for such a reallocation.
Fetzer Initiative on Economic Opportunity Policy Brief
10.19. Ananth Seshadri. The UW-System faces price controls like none of its peers. This policy brief provides some background for this freeze. It brings the best available evidence to bear on returns to college, investing in the UW-System, and college debt.