IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/oxecpp/v72y2020i1p1-24..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do selective schooling systems increase inequality?

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Burgess
  • Matt Dickson
  • Lindsey Macmillan

Abstract

We investigate the impact on earnings inequality of a selective education system in which school assignment is based on initial test scores. We use a large, representative household panel survey to compare adult earnings inequality of those growing up under a selective education system with those educated under a comprehensive system in England. Controlling for a range of background characteristics and the current location, the wage distribution for individuals who grew up in selective schooling areas is substantially and significantly more unequal. The total effect sizes are large: 24% of the raw 90–10 earnings gap and 19% of the conditional 90–10 earnings gap can be explained by differences across schooling systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Burgess & Matt Dickson & Lindsey Macmillan, 2020. "Do selective schooling systems increase inequality?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-24.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:72:y:2020:i:1:p:1-24.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oep/gpz028
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simon Burgess & Matt Dickson & Lindsey Macmillan, 2020. "Do selective schooling systems increase inequality?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-24.
    2. Will Dobbie & Roland G. Fryer, Jr., 2011. "Exam High Schools and Academic Achievement: Evidence from New York City," NBER Working Papers 17286, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Del Bono, Emilia & Clark, Damon, 2014. "The long-run effects of attending an elite school: evidence from the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-05, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    4. Adele Atkinson & Paul Gregg & Brendon McConnell, 2006. "The Result of 11 Plus Selection: An Investigation into Opportunities and Outcomes for Pupils in Selective LEAs," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 06/150, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol, UK.
    5. Clark Damon, 2010. "Selective Schools and Academic Achievement," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-40, February.
    6. Helen Slater & Neil M. Davies & Simon Burgess, 2012. "Do Teachers Matter? Measuring the Variation in Teacher Effectiveness in England," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(5), pages 629-645, October.
    7. Rebecca Allen & Simon Burgess & Tomas Key, 2010. "Choosing secondary school by moving house: school quality and the formation of neighbourhoods," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 10/238, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol, UK.
    8. Atila Abdulkadiroğlu & Joshua Angrist & Parag Pathak, 2014. "The Elite Illusion: Achievement Effects at Boston and New York Exam Schools," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 82(1), pages 137-196, January.
    9. Nina Guyon & Eric Maurin & Sandra McNally, 2012. "The Effect of Tracking Students by Ability into Different Schools: A Natural Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(3), pages 684-721.
    10. Manning, Alan & Pischke, Jörn-Steffen, 2006. "Comprehensive versus Selective Schooling in England in Wales: What Do We Know?," IZA Discussion Papers 2072, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. David Jesson, "undated". "The Comparative Evaluation of GCSE Value-Added Performance by Type of School and LEA," Discussion Papers 00/52, Department of Economics, University of York.
    12. Christian Dustmann & Patrick A. Puhani & Uta Schönberg, 2017. "The Long‐term Effects of Early Track Choice," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(603), pages 1348-1380, August.
    13. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00754588 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Gibbons, Stephen & Machin, Stephen & Silva, Olmo, 2013. "Valuing school quality using boundary discontinuities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 15-28.
    15. repec:bri:cmpowp:13/323 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Gibbons, Stephen & Machin, Stephen & Silva, Olmo, 2013. "Valuing school quality using boundary discontinuity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 45246, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Galindo-Rueda, Fernando & Vignoles, Anna, 2004. "The Heterogeneous Effect of Selection in Secondary Schools: Understanding the Changing Role of Ability," IZA Discussion Papers 1245, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Hart, Robert A & Moro, Mirko & Roberts, J Elizabeth, 2012. "Date of birth, family background, and the 11 plus exam: short- and long-term consequences of the 1944 secondary education reforms in England and W ales," Stirling Economics Discussion Papers 2012-10, University of Stirling, Division of Economics.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simon Burgess & Matt Dickson & Lindsey Macmillan, 2020. "Do selective schooling systems increase inequality?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-24.
    2. Matt Dickson & Lindsey Macmilllan, 2020. "Inequality in access to grammar schools," CEPEO Briefing Note Series 3, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Apr 2020.
    3. Basu, Anirban & Jones, Andrew M. & Dias, Pedro Rosa, 2018. "Heterogeneity in the impact of type of schooling on adult health and lifestyle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-14.
    4. Vincenzo Carrieri & Apostolos Davillas & Andrew M. Jones, 2023. "Equality of opportunity and the expansion of higher education in the UK," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 69(4), pages 861-885, December.
    5. Burgess, Simon, 2016. "Human Capital and Education: The State of the Art in the Economics of Education," IZA Discussion Papers 9885, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Buscha, Franz & Gorman, Emma & Sturgis, Patrick, 2023. "Selective schooling and social mobility in England," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Pastore, Chiara & Jones, Andrew M., 2023. "Human capital consequences of missing out on a grammar school education," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Simon Burgess & Claire Crawford & Lindsey Macmillan, 2017. "Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility," DoQSS Working Papers 17-09, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    9. Buscha, Franz & Gorman, Emma & Sturgis, Patrick, 2023. "Selective schooling and social mobility in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118341, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Esser, Hartmut & Relikowski, Ilona, 2015. "Is Ability Tracking (Really) Responsible for Educational Inequalities in Achievement? A Comparison between the Country States Bavaria and Hesse in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 9082, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Hart, Robert A. & Moro, Mirko, 2017. "Date of Birth and Selective Schooling," IZA Discussion Papers 10949, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:bri:cmpowp:13/323 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Pastore, Chiara & Jones, Andrew M., 2023. "Human capital consequences of missing out on a grammar school education," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    3. Hart, Robert A. & Moro, Mirko, 2017. "Date of Birth and Selective Schooling," IZA Discussion Papers 10949, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Burgess, Simon, 2016. "Human Capital and Education: The State of the Art in the Economics of Education," IZA Discussion Papers 9885, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Bach, Maximilian & Fischer, Mira, 2020. "Understanding the Response to High-Stakes Incentives in Primary Education," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 261, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    6. Buscha, Franz & Gorman, Emma & Sturgis, Patrick, 2023. "Selective schooling and social mobility in England," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Richard Murphy & Felix Weinhardt, 2020. "Top of the Class: The Importance of Ordinal Rank," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(6), pages 2777-2826.
    8. Basu, Anirban & Jones, Andrew M. & Dias, Pedro Rosa, 2018. "Heterogeneity in the impact of type of schooling on adult health and lifestyle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-14.
    9. Clark, Damon & Del Bono, Emilia, 2014. "The Long-Run Effects of Attending an Elite School: Evidence from the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 8617, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Borghans, By Lex & Diris, Ron & Smits, Wendy & de Vries, Jannes, 2020. "Should we sort it out later? The effect of tracking age on long-run outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Buscha, Franz & Gorman, Emma & Sturgis, Patrick, 2023. "Selective schooling and social mobility in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118341, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Marco Ovidi, 2021. "Parents know better: primary school choice and student achievement in London," Working Papers 919, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    13. Christian Dustmann & Patrick A. Puhani & Uta Schönberg, 2017. "The Long‐term Effects of Early Track Choice," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(603), pages 1348-1380, August.
    14. Andrew Dustan & Alain de Janvry & Elisabeth Sadoulet, 2017. "Flourish or Fail?: The Risky Reward of Elite High School Admission in Mexico City," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(3), pages 756-799.
    15. Stéphane Bonhomme & Ulrich Sauder, 2009. "Accounting for Unobservables in Comparing Selective and Comprehensive Schooling," Working Papers wp2009_0906, CEMFI.
    16. Zoltan Hermann, 2013. "Are you on the right track? The effect of educational tracks on student achievement in upper-secondary education in Hungary," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 1316, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    17. Anirban Basu & Andrew M. Jones & Pedro Rosa Dias, 2014. "The Roles of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills in Moderating the Effects of Mixed-Ability Schools on Long-Term Health," NBER Working Papers 20811, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Akyol, Pelin & Krishna, Kala, 2017. "Preferences, selection, and value added: A structural approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 89-117.
    19. Marco Ovidi, 2022. "Parents Know Better: Sorting on Match Effects in Primary School," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def121, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    20. Andrew M. Jones & Nigel Rice & Pedro Rosa Dias, 2011. "Long-Term Effects of School Quality on Health and Lifestyle: Evidence from Comprehensive Schooling Reforms in England," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(3), pages 342-376.
    21. Adrienne M. Lucas & Isaac M. Mbiti, 2014. "Effects of School Quality on Student Achievement: Discontinuity Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 234-263, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:72:y:2020:i:1:p:1-24.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/oep .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.