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Catalyzing social mobility through student success

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  • Nicola Branson
  • Emma Whitelaw

Abstract

We investigate the role of South African higher education institutions in promoting intergenerational social mobility using a newly linked administrative dataset of university students and secondary school completers. We measure mobility as the share of graduates from lower-income secondary schools—proxied by South Africa's quintile classification of school poverty—who are estimated to enter top-earning positions. Although access to higher education has expanded for students from lower-quintile schools, large differences in mobility outcomes persist across institutions and fields of study.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Branson & Emma Whitelaw, 2026. "Catalyzing social mobility through student success," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2026-48, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2026-48
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