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Ability, Not Heritage: Why Expanding University Access Often Fails to Narrow Intergenerational Educational Gaps

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Astebro

    (HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales)

  • Henrik Hällerfors

    (Uppsala University)

  • Andreas Bergh

    (IFN - Research Institute of Industrial Economics)

  • Joacim Tåg

    (IFN - Research Institute of Industrial Economics)

Abstract

Many countries have established new local colleges to increase access to education for disadvantaged populations. However, many of these expansions have not reduced educational inequality. Drawing on evidence from a large-scale college expansion initiative, we find that increased college availability did not lead to a differential increase in attendance among students from parents with less education. Rather, the expanded access primarily benefited students with marginal academic ability. These results suggest that higher education enrollment is largely determined by inherent scholastic ability and that the expansion of higher education tends to attract students at the upper margin of this ability distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Astebro & Henrik Hällerfors & Andreas Bergh & Joacim Tåg, 2025. "Ability, Not Heritage: Why Expanding University Access Often Fails to Narrow Intergenerational Educational Gaps," Working Papers hal-05562897, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05562897
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.5646490
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