SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY: Jane Waldfogel ARE DESTINIES - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY: Jane Waldfogel ARE DESTINIES DIVERGING? Columbia University & London School of Economics

THREE QUESTIONS 1. Are destinies diverging in the US? 2. Are patterns similar across countries? 3. What can be done to reduce educational inequalities and improve social/economic mobility?

1. ARE DESTINIES DIVERGING IN THE US? Educational inequalities are one of the most important drivers of social and economic inequalities Fortunately racial/ethnic gaps in achievement have narrowed in the US But Sean Reardon’s work has called attention to large and growing achievement gaps between children from low and high socioeconomic status (SES) families

Trend in 90/10 Income Gap in Reading, 1940-2005 Cohorts 1.50 1.25 Study TALENT 1.00 NLS HS&B NELS 0.75 Add Health Prospects ELS 0.50 SECCYD ECLS-K 1998 ECLS-B 0.25 ECLS-K 2010 95% CI Fitted Trend 0.00 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Cohort Birth Year Reardon, 2011, in Whither Opportunity

GROWING GAPS IN FAMILY RESOURCES These growing SES gaps in achievement have occurred in parallel with growing gaps in family resources – a phenomenon that Sara McLanahan called “diverging destinies”

Mothers' Median Age (among those with children under age 5), 1960 to 2010 40 Low education 35 Middle education Age (median) High education 30 25 20 15 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 McLanahan , 2004, “Diverging Destinies”; McLanahan & Jacobsen, 2015 “Diverging Destinies Revisited” (Education defined by quartiles)

Single Motherhood, 1960 to 2010 0.6 Low education 0.5 Middle education High education 0.4 Proportion 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 McLanahan , 2004, “Diverging Destinies; McLanahan & Jacobsen, 2015, “Diverging Destinies Revisited”

Median Family Income, 1960 to 2000 McLanahan , 2004 “Diverging Destinies”

GROWING GAPS IN INVESTMENTS IN CHILDREN As family incomes have become more unequal, so too have investments in children

Enrichment Expenditures (2008$) per Child, 1972-2006 Greg Duncan & Richard Murnane, 2011, Whither Opportunity

Robert Putnam, 2015, Our Kids

2. ARE PATTERNS SIMILAR ACROSS COUNTRIES? In a recent book from Russell Sage Foundation, Bruce Bradbury, Miles Corak, Liz Washbrook, and I use cohort data to compare educational inequalities in: US, UK, Canada, Australia

Box 1.1 The Child Cohort Studies U.S. U.K. Australia Canada Survey name Early Childhood Millennium Longitudinal Study of National Longitudinal Study, Cohort Study Australian Children Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort (MCS) Kindergarten Cohort of Children and (ECLS-K) (LSAC-K) Youth (NLSCY) Cohort birth dates 1992-1993 2000-2002 1999-2000 1991-1994 Ages when 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14 5, 7, 11 5, 9, 11 5, 7, 9, 11 children assessed Sample size 8,370 11,762 3,940 4,346 (balanced panel)

MEASURING SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES) We use parental education as our measure of SES – it is a good proxy for permanent income, can be comparably measured, and is an important input to child development Based on the highest educated parent, we code families as - low SES (HS or less) - medium SES (some education beyond HS) - high SES (BA or more)

SES & RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN Although family resources are skewed by SES in all four countries, this inequality is starkest in the US (often followed by UK) (Fig 3.2-3.7)

Figure 3.2 Over one in five children in US families with low educated parents were born to a teen mother, but only three in one hundred in high-educated households 25% 21% born to a teenage mother Percentage of children 20% United States 15% 12% United Kingdom 10% Canada 3% 5% Australia 0% High Medium Low Parental education

Figure 3.3 Children in the U.S. are least likely to be living with both biological parents 100% Percentage of children living 90% with both parents at 4/5 Australia 80% 83% 70% Canada 60% United United States 63% 50% Kingdom 52% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% High Medium Low Parental education

Figure 3.4 Although all four countries have many immigrant parents, in the U.S. children of the least educated parents are most likely to have an immigrant parent – but selective immigration policies means that the reverse applies in Australia and Canada. 50% Australia 45% 40% Immigrant parent 35% Canada 30% 25% United 28% United States 20% Kingdom 15% 15% 16% 10% 5% 0% High Medium Low Parental education

Figure 3.7 Highly educated parents are much more likely to read to their children every day. However, Canadian parents with low education read to their children as often as highly educated parents from the other three countries. 80% 70% Parent reads to child Canada 60% 58% every day 50% United Kingdom United States 40% Australia 43% 33% 30% 20% 10% 0% High Medium Low Parental education

Figure 3.6 Incomes of high-educated families in the US are 1.8 times as large as in medium-educated families and three times as large as in low-educated families. Income differentials are markedly smaller in the UK, Canada, and particularly Australia. 100 Median income for a family United States of 4 (thousands of US $) United 90 Kingdom 80 Canada 70 60 Australia 50 40 30 High Medium Low Parental education

SES & RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN But, the US safety net and supports for working families do the least among the four countries to combat income inequality (Fig 3.8, Fig 4.4)

Figure 3.8 In the absence of government taxes and transfers, child poverty would be as high in the other countries as it is in the US. But government benefits do more to reduce poverty in the other countries than they do in the US. 50.0 38.5 40.0 Poverty 32.3 31.0 29.2 based on... 30.0 26.3 Market Percent 21.3 income 17.1 20.0 16.0 Post-tax 10.0 and transfer income 0.0 US UK AU CA Source: Bradbury and Jantti (2001)

Figure A4.11 Australia and UK provide universal preschool, but in the US and Canada, enrollment varies by SES. 100% Australia based care, year before 90% United Kingdom Children in centre- 80% 70% 78% formal schooling 70% United States 60% 60% 50% 40% Canada 30% 20% 10% 0% High Medium Low Parental education

SES & ACHIEVEMENT – THE US IS MOST UNEQUAL (OFTEN FOLLOWED BY UK)

Figure 5.1 Achievement gaps by parental education are largest in the US Panel A Gaps by parental At age 5 1.2 education: High-medium gap 1.0 Std dev difference Medium-low gap 0.8 0.54 0.54 0.35 0.6 0.32 0.4 0.22 0.47 0.46 0.44 0.2 0.29 0.25 0.0 US… US… UK… AU… CA reading

Panel B At age 7/9 1.2 1.0 Std dev difference 0.8 0.56 0.53 0.6 0.43 0.28 0.34 0.31 0.4 0.26 0.42 0.42 0.2 0.38 0.34 0.31 0.30 0.10 0.0 US US UK UK AU CN CN reading math reading math reading reading math

Panel C And at age 11 1.2 1.0 Std dev difference 0.8 0.56 0.55 0.6 0.45 0.34 0.45 0.4 0.37 0.45 0.2 0.39 0.33 0.28 0.23 0.20 0.0 US US UK AU AU CN reading math reading reading math math

3. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES & PROMOTE ECONOMIC/SOCIAL MOBILITY? 1. Evidence-based parenting and preschool programs to provide more support for early learning 2. Income support policies to raise family incomes for the poor and near-poor 3. Education policies to Improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools

IN CONCLUSION: TOO MANY CHILDREN ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND – BUT WE CAN DO BETTER The gaps and challenges in the US – and UK - are sobering But the experience of peer countries suggests the US – and the UK - can and should do better And, recent trends in school readiness within the US offer reason for hope

Change in Kindergarten Readiness 90-10 Income Gaps, 1998-2010 Insert figure showing dec Math Reading 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.2 Achievement Gap (Standard Deviations) 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 1998 2006 2010 1998 2006 2010 Source: Reardon and Portilla (2015). Sean Reardon & Ximena Portilla, 2016, AERA Open

Narrowing gaps in parents Reading reading books at least 3 times/week with children, use of a home computer for reading or math, and visits to library Computer use Library Daphna Bassok, Rae Lee, Sean Reardon, & Jane Waldfogel, 2016, AERA Open

MOVING FORWARD Countries like the US and UK should commit to reduce educational inequalities – which cut across and underlie other forms of economic and social inequality As rich nations, we can and should do better

THANKS To Annie E. Casey Foundation, Australian Research Council, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Russell Sage Foundation, and Sutton Trust for supporting the research reported here