Into the Impossible With Brian Keating What's The Real Value of Your Degree? Aswath Damodaran
Mar 9, 2026
Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern finance professor and valuation guru, critiques academia and markets. He tackles why Nobel economists are not billionaires, explains how universities have lost their purpose, warns that most research is low value, and argues every major asset class looks overpriced. He also discusses valuation uncertainty, market wisdom, and where to put money when diversification fails.
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Research Universities Have Misaligned Incentives
- Universities prioritize tenured research faculty over undergraduate teaching, creating misaligned incentives that drive tuition increases.
- Aswath Damodaran calls out adjunct reliance, spending-every-dollar nonprofit culture, and 95% of research as having negligible societal impact.
University Stickiness Comes From Multiple Bundled Services
- Universities are a sticky bundle: safety, social structure, networking, entertainment, and credentialing keep demand high despite cheap online content.
- Damodaran argues disruption will be gradual, chipping away first at community colleges and pure-content courses.
Give Away Content To Force Classroom Value
- Unbundle course content and give it away to force classrooms to add unique value beyond lectures.
- Damodaran records and publishes full classes and slides to test what keeps students showing up and to push universities to innovate.
