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University access for disadvantaged children: A comparison across English speaking countries

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • John Jerrim

    ()

    (Institute of Education, University of London)

  • Anna Vignoles

    ()

    (Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge)

  • Ross Finnie

    ()

    (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa)

Abstract

In this paper we consider whether certain countries are particularly adept (or particularly poor) at getting children from disadvantaged homes to study for a bachelor’s degree. A series of university access models are estimated for four English speaking countries (England, Canada, Australia and the United States) which include controls for comparable measures of academic achievement at age 15. We not only consider access to any university but also admission to a ‘selective’ institution. Our results suggest that socio-economic differences in university access are more pronounced in England and Canada than Australia and the United States, and that cross-national variation in the socio-economic gap remains even once we take account of differences in academic achievement. We discuss the implications of our findings for the creation of more socially mobile societies.

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Paper provided by Department of Quantitative Social Science - UCL Institute of Education, University College London in its series DoQSS Working Papers with number 12-11.

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Date of creation: 13 Dec 2012
Handle: RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1211
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Department of Quantitative Social Science. UCL IOE, 20 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AL

Phone: (44) (0)20 7612 6654. Eliminate (44) and add (0) if calling from inside the UK. Add (44) and eliminate (0) if calling from abroad.
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Web page: http://www.ioe.ac.uk/research/departments/qss/35445.html

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Keywords: : University access; educational inequality; social mobility; PISA.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
  • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
  • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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  1. Vignoles Anna F & Powdthavee Nattavudh, 2009. "The Socioeconomic Gap in University Dropouts," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-36, April.
  2. John Micklewright & Sylke V. Schnepf & Chris Skinner, 2012. "Non-response biases in surveys of schoolchildren: the case of the English Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) samples," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 175(4), pages 915-938, October.
  3. Nigel C. O’Leary & Peter J. Sloane, 2005. "The Return to a University Education in Great Britain," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 193(1), pages 75-89, July.
  4. Pedro Carneiro & James J. Heckman, 2002. "The Evidence on Credit Constraints in Post--secondary Schooling," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 705-734, October.
  5. Chapman, Bruce & Ryan, Chris, 2005. "The access implications of income-contingent charges for higher education: lessons from Australia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 491-512, October.
  6. Buly A. Cardak & Chris Ryan, 2009. "Participation in Higher Education in Australia: Equity and Access," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(271), pages 433-448, December.
  7. Jäntti, Markus & Bratsberg, Bernt & Røed, Knut & Raaum, Oddbjørn & Naylor, Robin & Österbacka, Eva & Bjørklund, Anders & Eriksson, Tor, 2005. "American exceptionalism in a new light: a comparison of intergenerational earnings mobility in the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom and the United States," Memorandum 34/2005, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
  8. Dan A. Black & Seth Sanders & Lowell Taylor, 2003. "The Economic Reward for Studying Economics," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(3), pages 365-377, July.
  9. Philippe Belley & Lance Lochner, 2007. "The Changing Role of Family Income and Ability in Determining Educational Achievement," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 37-89.
  10. Dan A. Black & Jeffrey A. Smith, 2006. "Estimating the Returns to College Quality with Multiple Proxies for Quality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 701-728, July.
  11. Stephen V. Cameron & James J. Heckman, 2001. "The Dynamics of Educational Attainment for Black, Hispanic, and White Males," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(3), pages 455-499, June.
  12. Mark Hoekstra, 2009. "The Effect of Attending the Flagship State University on Earnings: A Discontinuity-Based Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(4), pages 717-724, November.
  13. Arleen Leibowitz, 1974. "Home Investments in Children," NBER Chapters,in: Marriage, Family, Human Capital, and Fertility, pages 111-135 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  14. Atsushi Inoue & Gary Solon, 2010. "Two-Sample Instrumental Variables Estimators," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(3), pages 557-561, August.
  15. Leibowitz, Arleen, 1974. "Home Investments in Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 111-131, Part II, .
  16. John Jerrim, 2012. "The socio-economic gradient in teenagers' literacy skills: how does England compare to other countries?," DoQSS Working Papers 12-04, Department of Quantitative Social Science - UCL Institute of Education, University College London.
  17. Bradbury, Bruce & Corak, Miles & Waldfogel, Jane & Washbrook, Elizabeth, 2011. "Inequality during the Early Years: Child Outcomes and Readiness to Learn in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and United States," IZA Discussion Papers 6120, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  18. Arleen Leibowitz, 1974. "Home Investments in Children," NBER Chapters,in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 432-456 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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Cited by:

  1. Claire Crawford, 2014. "Socio-economic differences in university outcomes in the UK: drop-out, degree completion and degree class," IFS Working Papers W14/31, Institute for Fiscal Studies.

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