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Educational Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Blanden, Jo
  • Doepke, Matthias
  • Stuhler, Jan

Abstract

This chapter provides new evidence on educational inequality and reviews the literature on the causes and consequences of unequal education. We document large achievement gaps between children from different socio-economic backgrounds, show how patterns of educational inequality vary across countries, time, and generations, and establish a link between educational inequality and social mobility. We interpret this evidence from the perspective of economic models of skill acquisition and investment in human capital. The models account for different channels underlying unequal education and highlight how endogenous responses in parents' and children's educational investments generate a close link between economic inequality and educational inequality. Given concerns over the extended school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, we also summarize early evidence on the impact of the pandemic on children's education and on possible long-run repercussions for educational inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Blanden, Jo & Doepke, Matthias & Stuhler, Jan, 2022. "Educational Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 17211, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17211
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Educational inequality
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2022-06-02 20:14:05

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    2. Jessica Bracco & Matías Ciaschi & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Guido Neidhöfer, 2025. "The Impact of COVID‐19 on Education in Latin America: Long‐Run Implications for Poverty and Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 71(1), February.
    3. Fabien Petit, 2023. "AI and Employment Opportunities: Fostering Skill Development for a Prosperous Future," CEPEO Briefing Note Series 27, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Dec 2023.
    4. Winfree, Paul, 2023. "The long-run effects of temporarily closing schools: Evidence from Virginia, 1870s-1910s," QUCEH Working Paper Series 23-02, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    5. Ahsan, Md. Nazmul & Emran, M. Shahe & Jiang, Hanchen & Shilpi, Forhad, 2025. "Making the most of coresident data: Credible evidence on intergenerational mobility with sibling correlation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Busso, Matias & Montaño, Sebastián & Muñoz-Morales, Juan & Pope, Nolan G., 2024. "The unintended consequences of merit-based teacher selection: Evidence from a large-scale reform in Colombia," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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