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Education and the reproduction of economic inequality in the United States: An empirical investigation

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  • Rumberger, Russell W.
Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between family background and both college completion and earnings for a cohort of young adults. The study is based on sample of 8901 respondents from the National Education Longitudinal Study who were first surveyed as eighth graders in 1988 and last surveyed 12 years later and who were working and not attending school at the time of the last survey. The study finds that social class background has a powerful effect on college completion. The odds of completing college for a student from a high SES background are more than six times higher than for a student from a lower social class background, even when controlling for other predictors such as test scores, grades, and college expectations. The effect of social class background on young adult earnings is more modest, but consistent with other studies. In both cases, the relationship varies widely among gender and racial and ethnic groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Rumberger, Russell W., 2010. "Education and the reproduction of economic inequality in the United States: An empirical investigation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 246-254, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:29:y:2010:i:2:p:246-254
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nam, Yunju, 2020. "Parents’ financial assistance for college and black-white disparities in post-secondary educational attainment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    2. Herbst, Mikolaj & Rok, Jakub, 2011. "Equity in an educational boom: Lessons from the expansion and marketization of tertiary schooling in Poland," MPRA Paper 33795, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Nicholas A. Bowman & Gregory C. Wolniak & Tricia A. Seifert & Kathleen Wise & Charles Blaich, 2023. "The Long-Term Role of Undergraduate Experiences: Predicting Intellectual and Civic Outcomes," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(3), pages 379-401, May.
    4. Tansel, Aysit, 2011. "Intergenerational educational mobility in Turkey," MPRA Paper 68435, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Zapata-Moya, Angel R. & Freese, Jeremy & Bracke, Piet, 2023. "Mechanism substitution in preventive innovations: Dissecting the reproduction of health inequalities in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    6. Bowden, Mark P. & Doughney, James, 2012. "The importance of cultural and economic influences behind the decision to attend higher education," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 95-103.
    7. Serge Atherwood & Gabriela Sánchez-Soto, 2023. "Does Social Class Matter Equally for the Timely Transition Into and Out of College? Evidence from the NLSY97," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(1), pages 95-128, February.
    8. Timothy Tyler Brown, 2013. "A monetary valuation of individual religious behaviour: the case of prayer," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(15), pages 2031-2037, May.
    9. Arvate, Paulo Roberto & Zoghbi, Ana Carolina Pereira, 2010. "Intergenerational conflict and public education expenditure when there is co-residence between the elderly and young," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1165-1175, December.
    10. Hanzl, Lisa, 2024. "The Role of Public Space: Libraries and Racial Inequality in Education," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302387, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. David Fairbrother & Renuka Mahadevan, 2016. "Do Education and Sex Matter for Intergenerational Earnings Mobility? Some Evidence from Australia," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 212-226, September.
    12. Ylva B. Almquist & Lars Brännström, 2018. "Childhood Adversity and Trajectories of Disadvantage Through Adulthood: Findings from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 225-245, February.
    13. Ghada Barsoum & Ahmed Rashad, 2018. "Does Private Higher Education Improve Employment Outcomes? Comparative Analysis from Egypt," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 125-142, March.
    14. Mikolaj Herbst & Jakub Rok, 2011. "Equity of access to higher education in the transforming economy. Evidence from Poland," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 6, in: Antonio Caparrós Ruiz (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 6, edition 1, volume 6, chapter 29, pages 475-494, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    15. Marcus L. Britton & Pat Rubio Goldsmith, 2013. "Keeping People in Their Place? Young-Adult Mobility and Persistence of Residential Segregation in US Metropolitan Areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(14), pages 2886-2903, November.
    16. Onur Özdemir, 2023. "The determinants of income distribution: the role of progress in human capital," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(5), pages 4193-4227, October.
    17. Silles, Mary A., 2011. "The intergenerational effects of parental schooling on the cognitive and non-cognitive development of children," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 258-268, April.

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    Inequaltiy Education and work;

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