Externalities Research Articles

Business models and strategies for the internalization of externalities in agri-food value chains

Current food systems have significant negative environmental, social, and economic impacts. Externalized costs and benefits create false market incentives favoring less healthy and unsustainable options. Transitioning to sustainable agri-food systems requires that businesses internalize these externalities. Internalization of externalities (IOE) is often addressed through policy measures and regulatory initiatives. However, IOE can also be carried out through business models (BMs) and strategies which involve creating positive externalities, mitigating/preventing negative ones, as well as ensuring fair distribution of risks, costs, and benefits. Accordingly, sustainable and innovative BMs and strategies offer pathways to achieving IOE. This paper identifies existing sustainable and innovative BMs and strategies and explains how they can achieve IOE. Using an integrative literature review methodology, we reconcile both economics and business literature approaches. We subsequently carry out two levels of analysis including abductive coding and interrelationship evaluation. The paper explores the characteristics of BMs and strategies that address IOE, using the well-known concept of value and introduces a conceptual framework for categorizing business models and strategies for the internalization of externalities (BM4IOE). The article initiates a discourse on the role of BMs in the IOE within agri-food value chains and provides insights into how businesses can develop and implement models that effectively internalize externalities, thereby enhancing sustainability and driving innovation in the transition of agri-food systems.

Research on Impact of Equity Costs and Environmental Costs on Supply-Side Classified Water Pricing

The classified water pricing system is an effective measure for promoting the rational utilization of water resources under market mechanisms. Studying the water prices of three different types of water sources, including reservoir water, river water, and wastewater treatment plant effluent, is the basis for promoting the use of reclaimed water. However, there remains a spectrum of viewpoints on how to establish a pricing mechanism for reclaimed water at present. This study primarily focuses on the multi-level quality-separated water supply system in Yiwu City, China. It analyzes the limitations of the current water pricing formation mechanism and the externality of integrating reclaimed water into the unified allocation of multiple water sources. Based on the principles of full-cost water pricing and externality theory, a supply-side classified water pricing permit cost and pricing calculation model, covering the entire process of the social water cycle, is proposed. It focuses on the analysis of the impact of equity costs and environmental costs on supply-side classified water pricing. The Shapley value method is used for the technology of cost allocation among stakeholders to reasonably distribute the calculated water pricing of reclaimed water. The price of reclaimed water varies depending on the user type, with residential users paying 2.93 CNY/t, industrial users 4.00 CNY/t, and government allocations at 8.52 CNY/t. Compared with the classified water prices of various stakeholders on the user side of reservoir water, reclaimed water has a significant price advantage. This research demonstrates that the supply-side classified water pricing model, which includes a permit cost and pricing calculation framework, can encourage the supply of higher-quality water at corresponding higher prices, while also providing the internalization of external costs. Furthermore, the Shapley value method of cost allocation can realize the fair burden of stakeholders on the calculated water price and maintain the competitive advantage of reclaimed water prices.

High‐Speed Rail Opening and Corporate Environmental Responsibility Performance: Analysis of Talent Aggregation and Supervisory Pressure

ABSTRACTThe existing literature has explored the impact of high‐speed rail (HSR) opening on macrolevel environmental performance. However, few studies have validated its effects on microlevel corporate environmental responsibility performance. Therefore, on the basis of data from Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2011 to 2020, we examine the relationship between HSR opening and corporate environmental responsibility performance, along with the underlying reasons for this relationship. Our research reveals that HSR opening can significantly improve the corporate environmental responsibility performance. Talent aggregation and supervisory pressure constitute the two main channels that explain the positive relationship. Furthermore, the results of heterogeneity tests indicate that this positive effect is more significant in cities with larger populations and administrative centers, as well as in nonpolluting industries and companies certified through ISO14001 environmental management systems. This paper confirms that HSR opening contributes to generating positive externalities for firms and provides valuable insights into improving and understanding corporate environmental responsibility performance.

The Impact of Equity Financing Moderation on Global Supply Chain Management and Corporate Performance Relationship

The main urban environmental problems are poor air quality, the urban heat island effect, water quality deterioration and flooding, environmental biodiversity needs, increased waste flows, and excessive carbon emissions levels. Many of these issues, especially the urban heat island effect and stormwater runoff, have a greater impact and stronger influence on post-industrial cities more emphatically influence post-industrial cities, because of their specific development patterns. Cities face many environmental challenges, including air and water quality problems, the need for adequate green space, excessive heat gain, contaminated stormwater runoff and lack of biodiversity ecosystem. Urban agriculture offers a unique opportunity to utilize vacant or idle land and rooftops throughout cities for the production of oxygen and healthy pesticide-free food. Adding residential green space to a neighborhood, including community gardens and urban farms, is known to provide a number of social, health, economic, and environmental benefits. Despite the challenging global trends, some citizens believe that Indonesia presents the resilience trend as displayed across the region, and we are ready to keep moving forward together for the years. In 2021 President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bpk Joko Widodo, officially established National Food Agency in Indonesia. This agency is ministered under the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security Agency, led by Bpk Arief Prasetyo Adi, and the Ministry of Economy, led by Bpk Airlangga Hartarto. The need for food and the market is very large and will continue to grow. However, the development of the food sector requires innovative methods based on modern technology, which will be able to increase the efficiency of the production process and the quality of food that is affordable and able to improve the carrying capacity of the environment, as well as the welfare of farmers and their supporting sectors. The purpose of this research is to provide information for executives to contribute to the development of the supply chain management talent, including the primary drivers, benefits, barriers, and bridges. The challenging macroeconomic and political environment is also putting pressure on the global business sector. Large companies have reported shrinking profit margins due to rising costs. Among small businesses, bankruptcy rates have begun to rise as borrowing costs rise and financial support dwindles. Emerging markets face many risks related to a strong US dollar, high external borrowing costs, persistently high inflation, volatility in commodity markets, increased uncertainty on the outlook for economic conditions in global economies, and pressure from tightening policies in advanced economies.

An Empirical Study on the Impact of Local Financial Capacity on the Supply Efficiency of Ecological Public Goods

Improving the quality and level of ecological public goods supply is crucial for enhancing the public happiness index and ensuring ecological welfare. A high-quality ecological environment generates significant positive externalities, making the provision of such goods a key focus of government expenditure. The ability of local governments to adequately fund the supply of ecological public goods depends on the strength of their financial capacity. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2007 to 2019, this paper uses the super-efficiency Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model and the dynamic Malmquist index to measure the supply efficiency of provincial-level regional ecological public goods including undesirable outputs. Furthermore, the panel Tobit model and the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model are used to empirically test the impact of local fiscal capacity on the supply efficiency of ecological public goods. The results show that fiscal absorption capacity can significantly improve the supply efficiency of ecological public goods, and the economic growth preference of fiscal allocation capacity can also significantly improve the supply efficiency of ecological public goods, indicating that under the influence of the current economic structure transformation and ecological civilization construction, the distortion of local governments in the supply of public goods has been improved, while the administrative consumption preference of fiscal allocation capacity hinders the improvement of the supply efficiency of ecological public goods, and the fiscal self-sufficiency has a lag in improving the supply efficiency of ecological public goods. Fiscal transfer payments have significantly improved the efficiency of the supply of ecological public goods.

Investigating optimal green port investment strategies considering location-based externalities

ABSTRACT Green port development benefits the port communities but might make shippers in the hinterland face positive or negative externalities. Those externalities to shippers might be amplified or reduced by congestion, which more likely happens when ports have a farther hinterland location. Therefore, the location-based externalities should be considered when decide green effort in competing ports. In this paper, we establish a competition-based green effort decision-making model in different scenarios, focusing on the impact of location-based externalities. By comparing the green effort and welfare under different investment modes and different market power structure, we discuss the impacts of location-based externalities and the motivation for joint-investment in green port development. We find that (1) The positive location-based externalities decrease the port profit due to the non-exclusivity of green port services. Public port governance mode and the dominant market position can alleviate port’s losses. (2) The negative location-based externalities make smaller port contribute more green effort than the larger port. (3) As the positive location-based externality increase gradually, the joint-investment between ports with similar size achieves lower total welfare than the separate-investment. Our findings suggest the necessity for flexible adjustment of green port plans to mitigate conflicting interests between ports and hinterlands.

Evaluating Justice in Accessibility to Urban Opportunities: Introducing Justice Analysis Frameworks Based on Theoretical Perspectives and Transportation Costs

Accessibility analysis plays a crucial role in urban and transportation planning. However, the modeling and interpretation of accessibility can vary significantly across theoretical frameworks, which offer diverse considerations and measurement approaches. These distinctions profoundly influence planning evaluations and policy- and decision-making activities. Therefore, this article explores the impact of intellectual theories—specifically Bentham, Marx, Rawls, and Al-Sadr's perspectives—on justice assessments regarding accessibility to urban opportunities via public and private transportation. To achieve this, a gravity-based accessibility model that incorporates both internal and external costs is developed. Subsequently, quantifiable frameworks for justice assessment are introduced. Next, five scenarios are evaluated, and accessibility values are calculated for a selected study area. Finally, the results are ranked and analyzed within the context of the theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal that theoretical justice evaluation frameworks significantly influence the prioritization of scenarios. Additionally, incorporating internal and external transportation costs into the accessibility computation process not only affects accessibility values but also enhances the reflection of theoretical perspectives on justice. The results further demonstrate that the proposed accessibility model and justice evaluation frameworks can enable planners to embed justice-oriented approaches more comprehensively in the planning processes.

Analisis Eksternalitas Industri Pariwisata Pantai Batu Pinagut Terhadap Pelaku Ekonomi dan Masyarakat

The progress of the management of the tourism sector, especially Batu Pinagut Beach, will have a direct impact on the community through aspects such as Economic, Social and environmental. Externalities can be in the form of positive/negative impacts on the surrounding community, the impact of externalities can cause various changes in the welfare of the surrounding community. The research using a descriptive-comparative method was carried out to compare a condition before and after the existence of the Batu Pinagut Beach tourist attraction located in East Boroko Village, Kaidipang District, North Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi Province. Data collection techniques with questionnaires and direct interviews with the community around Batu Pinagut Beach. The externality data analysis method used uses a different test from the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The results showed that there were differences between before and after the tourist attraction was managed, there were positive externalities in the economic and social aspects, while negative externalities in the environmental aspects in the Batu Pinagut beach tourist attraction.

Predicting medication adherence among children with epilepsy: Application of the protection motivation theory

PurposeBased on the protection motivation theory (PMT), which is an extension of the health belief model that takes the “reward” brought by behavior in the long-term process as a consideration factor and considering the influence of environmental and social factors on behavior patterns, this cross-sectional study evaluated medication adherence among children with epilepsy using structural equation modeling. MethodsChildren with epilepsy from pediatric neurology clinics were consecutively sampled at West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University from July 2021 to January 2024. According to PMT, we designed the 23-item questionnaire, which included seven factors, namely severity, susceptibility, external return, internal returns, self-efficacy, reaction efficiency, and reaction cost. Medication adherence was assessed using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. The reliability and validity of the scale were tested by confirmatory factor analysis, and path analysis was used to conduct hypothesis testing and calculate standardized path coefficients. ResultsWe enrolled 1357 children with epilepsy (mean age, 8.36 ± 4.04 years). Younger age, being an only child, caregivers’ unemployment, and comorbidities were associated with high medication adherence scores. The designed scale of PMT displayed good reliability and validity. Through path analysis of the structural equation model, self-efficacy, susceptibility, and severity exerted significant positive effects on adherence, and external return, internal returns, and reaction cost had significant negative effects on adherence. ConclusionsMedication adherence in children with epilepsy is relatively poor. PMT can explain and predict the medication adherence behavior and behavior intention of patients with epilepsy. It is recommended to increase the health education, personalize medication guidance, and provide telephone interventions to caregivers of children with epilepsy to enhance medication adherence and further improve therapeutic efficacy.

True Cost Accounting Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods and Data: A Case Study Comparing Palm, Rapeseed, and Coconut Oils for Sustainability and Nutrition

True Cost Accounting (TCA) aims to assess positive and negative externalities in agri-food value chains by focusing on four capitals: produced, natural, human, and social. While produced capital is easily measured through market values, obtaining relevant data for measuring natural, human, and social capitals can be challenging. To address this challenge, this paper presents a case study around the production in Asia of three globally important edible plant oils: palm, rapeseed, and coconut. Results show that readily available methods and data from different types of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) can be integrated into the framework of TCA to quantify and monetize positive and negative externalities associated with the production and consumption of these oils and to analyze the tradeoffs involved in choosing among them. However, the use of LCA methods and data also entails significant assumptions and limitations that must be considered when evaluating their use in TCA. Specific results show that the environmental impacts of production are small in comparison to the potential nutritional health benefits of consuming one oil over another. This study provides a roadmap for conducting similar analyses, allowing for a greater understanding of often overlooked sustainability and nutritional issues of food items.

Gender Pay Disparities in Public Organizations: The Equalizing Externality of Union Membership

Despite laws such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which were intended to address equal pay and prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on sex, the gender pay gap permeates public sector employment. Unions have long represented worker rights but are more often associated with improving salaries and working conditions. This study draws on the literature explaining how workplace characteristics relate to gender pay disparities to examine the impact of union membership on the gender pay gap in public sector organizations. Empirical analysis of responses from public procurement officers in the United States reveals that union membership is associated with an increase of 6% in wages for females and a gender pay gap reduction of 3%. Study findings demonstrate that union membership presents positive externalities that go beyond negotiated salary and benefits terms in collective bargaining agreements.

Monetizing Positive Externalities to Mitigate the Infrastructure Underinvestment Problem

Many cities struggle with financing their infrastructure projects. When decision makers cannot fully capture the benefits of their investments, there is a risk of underinvestment. Hong Kong’s transit operator created a model where it not only collects fare revenues but also engages in property management, leveraging the positive effects of public transport on nearby property values. In the article titled “Monetizing Positive Externalities to Mitigate the Infrastructure Underinvestment Problem,” the authors present a stochastic Stackelberg game of timing to examine the reasoning behind this approach. The issue is complex because the operator faces a two-dimensional optimal stopping problem that cannot be simplified by changing the numéraire. The authors determine the operator’s optimal investment strategy through the use of a “penalized problem” and provide comparative statics. They also identify the conditions in which capitalizing on positive externalities can encourage infrastructure investment. Other management challenges share similar structures.

Nationalist enclaves: Industrialising the critical mineral boom in Indonesia

Nickel's new status as a critical transition mineral has altered developmental agendas in the world's largest producer—Indonesia. The country's resource nationalist ambitions for a higher-value downstream mining industry dovetail with global demand for nickel, a key ingredient in low-carbon technologies like electric vehicles. Indonesia banned raw nickel exports and forced importers, primarily from China, to invest in downstream processing facilities. As a result, Indonesia's nickel industry expanded at breathtaking speed, export revenues soared, and economic growth along the country's nickel belt grew to over three times the national average. Indonesia's leaders cast the downstream sector as both an economic success story and a point of nationalist pride. This paper reflects critically on nickel-led growth in Indonesia, arguing the industry is generating new nationalist enclaves. I advance this concept to capture the paradox that new nickel-based industrial parks meet resource nationalist demands for a value-added extractive sector; yet the parks emerge as reconstituted extractive economic enclaves. Nickel-led growth relies on narrow networks of foreign and politically-connected domestic capital, and the industry's benefits are unevenly distributed. These political economy arrangements generate positive pecuniary externalities for a narrow set of state and private actors, and familiar negative externalities for the environment and communities at sites of extraction.

Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts of Sentul Rain Forest Tourism Development

Sentul Rain Forest Tourism (SRFT) is one of the ecotourism objects developed in a forest area managed by Perhutani Public Company in collaboration with a private company. This study examined the social, economic, and environmental impacts of SRFT on the surrounding community before and after SRFT development. The study used quantitative descriptive analysis methods, with interviews and questionnaires. Respondents were divided into two groups: community groups receiving direct and indirect impacts. The results showed that SRFT had a positive social impact, namely increasing social accessibility, which can increase people's mobility. Economically, SRFT created jobs and increased people's income in community groups with direct and indirect impacts. Environmentally, it increased the tree covering and positively changed people's attitudes towards forest management. However, the development of SRFT also has a negative impact. Socially, increasing conflict between tourists and the community, both in the community groups receiving direct and indirect impacts. Economically, it increased the externality costs to community groups that receive direct impacts. Keywords: economy impact, ecotourism, environmental impact, rain forest, social impact

Cost-Benefit Appraisal of Universal Design in Public Transport and Walking/Cycling Infrastructure.

Public budgets are limited and priorities must be made between competing projects. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the standard tool to assess projects and prioritise between them, as is done, e.g., in national transport plans. Universal design (UD) is typically a legal requirement in new investments and their benefits and contribution in CBA have usually not received much attention. Therefore, there is a risk that benefits are underestimated in projects that include UD elements and that these projects are subsequently ranked lower than what they ought to according to CBA performance. In this paper, we develop a user-friendly methodology for CBA of UD projects in public transport and walk/cycle infrastructure which aligns with national handbooks and guidelines for project appraisal. It contains five core elements: 1. User benefit. User benefit stems from valuation studies and are summarized and discounted over an assessment period, which in Norway is 40 years. This includes annual real price adjustments and the use of a discount rate according to guidelines. 2. Non-user effects. The degree to which UD projects affect other travellers, this (dis)benefit is accounted for. 3. Costs. Budget costs include investment and possible reinvestment at the end of economic life and annual operation and maintenance costs. These are summarized and discounted over the analysis period. Residual value after 40 years is subtracted. 4. Demand. Increases in walking and cycling have health benefits. Moreover, demand diverted from motorized transport and car to public transport, walking and cycling will affect external costs of road congestion, emissions, and accidents. 5. Shadow prices. According to Norwegian practice, the use of public funds has an inefficiency cost. Therefore, we add a shadow price on money from the public purse. With worked examples, we demonstrate that UD projects in transport are indeed available for CBA appraisal. What is more, they compete surprisingly well with alternative uses of public budgets. In fact, UD projects outperform most other transport projects in Norway when considering their cost-benefit performance. Money spent on UD gives more welfare back to society than most other uses within the transport sector. This means that UD need not only be a legal requirement in new installations. UD can also compete with, and be prioritized over, other transport investments and projects.

An insight into the implementation, utilization, and evaluation of telemedicine e-consultation services in Egypt

IntroductionTelemedicine has gained momentum in healthcare, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Egypt, a government collaboration introduced telemedicine in 2019 to transform healthcare delivery. ObjectiveThis study provides an overview of Egypt's telemedicine initiative, focusing on its infrastructure, utilization, and perceived impact over three years. MethodsA cross-sectional anonymous online survey of Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) physicians using telemedicine services was conducted. The survey estimated perceived cost savings and reductions in healthcare delivery wait times, along with identifying facilitators and barriers to telemedicine implementation. It captured sociodemographic characteristics and physician opinions on telemedicine benefits, including perceived face-to-face consultation costs and wait times. The descriptive analysis summarized these findings. ResultsEgypt's telemedicine system includes 200 Distance Medical Diagnosis Units (DMDUs) across governorates. By August 2023, over 97,000 consultations were completed, with consultations tripling in 2023 compared to 2020-2022. Dermatology, internal medicine, and pediatrics were the most requested specialties, with tuberculosis and clinical pharmacy added in 2023. Responses from 214 physicians revealed that nearly 90% estimated external consultation costs under 1000 EGP (32.4 USD), compared to the free telemedicine consultations available to patients. For inpatient consultations, 35% reported waiting times of a day or less. Challenges included technical issues and patient acceptance. ConclusionThe study offers insights for policymakers to optimize telemedicine services, improve healthcare access, and reduce disparities in Egypt, showing telemedicine's potential to enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Public interest summaryTelemedicine has become a crucial tool in healthcare, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. In Egypt, a collaboration between government ministries launched a telemedicine initiative in 2019. This study explores its impact over three years, focusing on the benefits and challenges of telemedicine as perceived by physicians. The findings are based on a survey of 214 doctors from 21 governorates who use the Ministry of Health and Population's telemedicine services. Results showed that over 97,000 consultations had been performed by mid-2023, with specialties like dermatology and pediatrics in high demand. Most doctors reported significant cost savings for patients compared to face-to-face consultations. However, challenges remain, particularly technical issues and patient acceptance. The study highlights the potential of telemedicine to improve healthcare access and reduce costs, offering valuable insights for policymakers to optimize the system and promote better healthcare outcomes in Egypt.

Rethinking the Drivers of Energy Intensity in India’s Iron and Steel Firms: The Role of Imported Intermediates

The improvements in energy intensity of India’s iron and steel industry despite the limited research and development (R and D) expenditure, high cost of adapting technologies/fuel and heavy dependence on coal-based process is intriguing. In attempting to understand the underlying drivers, this article uses firm-level panel data to show that firms have improved their energy intensity through retrofitting of the existing production utilities and ‘brownfield’ installations in the form of technology extensions. The improvements are essentially on account of the use of imported capital goods/equipment rather than core R and D. For policy, this highlights critical dependence on imports of green goods in meeting the net-zero targets. The finding is used to call for technology transfers as part of brownfield installations and policy interventions to support the domestic capital goods industry for reducing the dependency on imports. On the sidelines, the results also show that international trade has a positive externality through supporting the environment.

Externalities and sustainable agri-food system

The study investigated the influence of externalities on sustainable agri-food systems. The purpose was to find out the extent to which the inclusion of the cost of externalities in the price of food will translate to a more sustainable agricultural food system. The study used the cross-sectional survey design consisting of 216 randomly selected farmers of agri-food, in south-south Nigeria. A structured questionnaire served as the instrument of data collection. Convergent and divergent validity tests served to test for validity of the questionnaire while composite reliability tests served the purpose of testing for reliability. The study employed path diagram analysis using the structural equation modelling technique to test for the significance of data. The results indicate that the various costs of externalities (environmental, social, health and economic) have statistically significant relationships with agri-food sustainability. The study recommends including the cost of externalities in food pricing facilitating the drive towards a sustainable food system. The study makes a significant contribution to empirical and theoretical literature.

Roadmap for Power Generation of Industrial Hot Extruded Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Device in Real-World Heat Sources.

Recovering waste heat through thermoelectric (TE) technology is critical for enhancing energy efficiency. However, commercial devices often require n- and p-type thermoelectric units to have similar cross-sectional areas and conductivities, complicating optimization of their figure of merit (ZT). Moreover, real-world heat sources are not constant temperature sources, and only heat flux can be measured. Given these constraints, selecting appropriate parameters for TE devices to maximize their output power for specific heat sources is of significant scientific and practical importance. In this work, we studied a series of n- and p-type Bi2Te3-based TE materials, prepared using commercial hot extrusion techniques, with average conductivities of approximately 650 S cm-1, 820 S cm-1, 1050 S cm-1, and 1300 S cm-1 over the temperature range of 50-250 °C. These materials were assembled into four different thermoelectric devices (HE1, HE2, HE3, and HE4). Finite element simulations for devices HE1, HE2, HE3, and HE4 (TE leg: 1.4 mm × 1.4 mm × 1.6 mm, device area: 40 mm × 40 mm) showed maximum power densities of 3953.5 W m-2 and 1300.8 W m-2 at 67,000 W m-2 and 33,500 W m-2 heat fluxes, respectively. The fabricated devices achieved maximum power densities of 2907.1, 3014.0, 2910.9, and 2525.4 W m-2 at 67,000 W m-2 heat flux, with discrepancies attributed to interface thermal resistance. Based on these findings, we have plotted output performance roadmaps for TE devices with different average electrical conductivities under various heat flux densities (67,000 W m-2 and 33,500 W m-2) as functions of external load and TE leg height. These roadmaps enable rapid design of TE devices tailored to specific external heat source conditions and cost requirements, thereby maximizing waste heat recovery. This study's use of electrical conductivity as a performance indicator for final device output power density offers direct guidance for practical waste heat recovery applications.

“The 21st century professionalization?”: online education as an instrument for bolstering individual welfare and societal equality

Abstract Since the start of the last decade of the 20th century, the application of digital technologies with the potential of making substantial contributions to a community’s welfare have led to the creation of the literature of Public Interest Technologies and reinvigorated many areas of focus in the social sciences. A relevant subfield of this literature has been the application of new technologies to education to increase social public benefits. The traditional literature on higher education seems to agree that the expansion of this good throughout a society is desirable because it generates direct and indirect individual gains, as well as aggregate level social benefits in the form of positive externalities. However, some authors have argued that the acquisition of postsecondary education has its own drawbacks: unwanted intellectual influence of instructors on students, barriers to access for students of historically vulnerable sociodemographic groups, as well as students’ perception of a reduced pay-off from going to college. While there have been some indices that online higher education could abate many of these issues, there has been relatively little formal research to test this tool’s impact. Using a quantitative approach, via cross-section and time-series data analysis, the text finds some evidence that online higher education could solve many of higher education’s drawbacks, while also being a feasible approach given the current technological environment of the United States. The text concludes outlining future research using a mixed-methods approach that could be highly valuable to acquire a more comprehensive view and robust evidence of online higher education’s potential of expanding social public benefits.