Link between education, income inequality has existed for a century


Date:
July 27, 2020
Source:
Rice University
Summary:
Income is inextricably linked to access to education in America
and it has been for a century, according to a new study.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Income is inextricably linked to access to education in America and it
has been for a century, according to a new study from researchers at
Stanford University and Rice University.


==========================================================================
"A century of educational inequality in the United States," published
July 27 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examines
the link between education and income dating back to the early the
20th century. The research draws upon a dozen nationally representative datasets on college enrollment and completion between 1908 and 1995 as
well as tax data from more recent years. It is one of the first studies
to examine this link over such an extended period of time.

Researchers Michelle Jackson from Stanford and Brian Holzman from Rice's Houston Education Research Consortium, part of the Kinder Institute for
Urban Research and School of Social Sciences, found that income and
educational inequality moved in lockstep with one another throughout
the 20th century. The authors said previous studies of this topic,
which haven't examined data going so far back in time, did not reveal
such a strong link.

Their paper detailed how inequality in college enrollment and completion
rose in the 1930s and 1940s amid rising income inequality; was low for Americans born in the late 1950s and 1960s, when income inequality was
low; and rose again for Americans born in the late 1980s, when income inequality peaked. This U-turn indicates the nation is experiencing levels
of collegiate inequality not seen for generations, the authors wrote.

"Long story short, the findings reveal that longstanding worries about
income inequality and its relationship to college opportunity are
warranted," Holzman said.

One notable exception was during the Vietnam War. For young people at
risk of serving in the war, collegiate inequality was high while income inequality was low. During this period, inequality in college enrollment
and completion was significantly higher among men than women, suggesting
a bona fide "Vietnam War effect," according to the paper.

The researchers hope the paper will further demonstrate the systemic
nature of the link between income and education and inform future work
on increasing educational opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged
people.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Rice_University. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Michelle Jackson and Brian Holzman. A century of educational
inequality
in the United States. PNAS, 2020 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1907258117 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200727194705.htm

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