I encountered this post with what I see as shocking data on the production of PhDs. One in eight of the PhDs granted in the U.S. are produced by just five institutions.
Why is this an issue? Because PhDs are crucial to the knowledge generation of academe and the job market for this select group of individuals is quite limited. By dominating the production segment of training, a small number of institutions are threatening the productivity of other institutions. Without a record of employment, few will become willing to commit the time and work required to earn an advanced research degree.
Academic research depends on advanced students to man/woman the research labs of academics. At the advanced level, training and education are based on what is essentially an apprenticeship model. There is a great deal of labor in research activity and great benefits to the general public of having the diversity of research academic institutions produce in comparison to business and industry. The competitive nature of institution to institution attraction of external money – the grant money on which the research factory of higher education runs depends on reputation and existing infrastructure – means the rich get richer and less numerous.