The first experiment was a failure. In the 1970s, Yale University offered tuition to a group of students in exchange for a percentage of their future incomes. Adapting a 1955 idea by economist Milton Friedman to sell “human capital investments," the university paid the students' tuition. In return, the university hoped to recoup its investment...

The first experiment was a failure. In the 1970s, Yale University offered tuition to a group of students in exchange for a percentage of their future incomes. Adapting a 1955 idea by economist Milton Friedman to sell “human capital investments," the university paid the students' tuition. In return, the university hoped to recoup its investment...