Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Economics

Reader 1

Professor William Lincoln

Abstract

This study investigates whether foreign funding to U.S. universities influences campus protest activity, examining data from 261–265 universities between 2020 and 2024. I find that standard OLS analysis shows no relationship between foreign funding and protest activity, but once measurement error is addressed, through instrumental variable estimation, foreign funding has a statistically significant positive effect on campus protests. Country-level patterns reveal substantial variation: funding from Saudi Arabia consistently predicts higher protest levels, while funding from Qatar and China show unstable or weak relationships depending on the estimation approach. I also find that the 2024 Gaza conflict created a large increase in protests across all universities, suggesting that major geopolitical events can override the influence of foreign funding sources. The stark divergence between OLS and IV results, where OLS finds no effect but IV finds a strong positive effect, directly points to severe measurement error in universities' self-reported funding data, a problem rooted in institutional secrecy and lack of transparency about foreign funding arrangements.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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