Economie Inequality And Higher Education: Access, Persistence, And Success

摘要

Many economists would argue that a key (if not the key) factor influencing the wealth of nations today is the accumulated knowledge and skills of the population, a country's stock of human capital. The United States had a first-mover advantage in this regard, having adopted a policy of mass higher education at least one generation ahead of most other industrialized nations. In recent years, however, many other countries have caught up, as documented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Indeed, in a special analysis of OECD data prepared by economist Alan Wagner for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, the declining status of the United States relative to other OECD countries in both college enrollment rates and college completion is apparent (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, p. 6). Six countries exceed the United States in college enrollment of young people eighteen to twenty-four years of age, while fourteen countries exceed the United States in the number of certificates and degrees awarded per one hundred students enrolled. The United States has an educational advantage in the older (thirty-five to sixty-four) year old population, but as members of this group retire, the generation following will be less well educated. This excellent book from the Russell Sage Foundation provides valuable analyses and extensive empirical data on the leaking parts of our educational pipeline.