I participated in a panel discussion on Radio New Zealand this morning on Labour’s proposed changes. In that discussion I was surprised to hear Eric Crampton suggest that the changes would put material additional pressure on the finances of universities. Perhaps, although (a) the changes are explicitly aimed at sub-degree level courses, and (b) to the extent that universities are getting students partly because of the residence points that have been on offer, it is just another form of “corporate welfare” or subsidy that one would typically expect the New Zealand Initiative to oppose. Whether hidden or explicit, industry subsidies aren’t a desirable feature of economic policy.