Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility

Autor/in	Lovenheim, Michael
Institution	Pew Charitable Trusts, Economic Mobility Project
Titel	Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility
Quelle	(2011), (48 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Housing; Higher Education; Education Work Relationship; Mobility; Educational Attainment; Family Income; Enrollment; College Choice; Graduation; Educational Quality; Student Costs; Longitudinal Studies; National Surveys; National Longitudinal Survey of Youth + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Unterkunft; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Mobilität; Mobilitätsförderung; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Familieneinkommen; Einschulung; Studienortwahl; Abschluss; Graduierung; Quality of education; Bildungsqualität; Studienkosten; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung
Abstract	A college degree often translates into economic success: Americans who start at the bottom of the income ladder "quadruple" their chances of making it to the top when they earn a four-year degree, according to past research by the Pew Economic Mobility Project. Nevertheless, many young people from the bottom and middle of the ladder never enroll in some form of postsecondary education, or do not graduate if they do. The question is, why? There are two primary explanations at the individual level: college costs and academic preparation. These two drivers are not mutually exclusive. Families who have less money to send their children to college also have fewer resources to invest in pre-college education. In a time of increased financial hardship, however, it is important to better understand how family wealth, independent of other factors, affects students' decisions about higher education. The purpose of this study was to develop an economic model that isolates the impact that family wealth has on college choices. Since the housing boom occurred in different locations at different times, the author was able to develop a model that used variation in home equity as a natural experiment. The model investigates whether changes in family wealth, as represented by gains in home equity, affected college decisions. The approach controls for a range of time-related, geographic, and individual and family background factors that might also contribute to postsecondary choices so that the relationship between housing wealth and college enrollment, selection, and completion rates alone can be estimated. This report demonstrates that higher education decisions are highly sensitive to fluctuations in family resources. The report's key findings include: (1) Students from low- and middle-income families were much more likely to enroll in college when their families experienced gains in housing wealth; (2) Students from low- and middle-income families were more likely to select higher-quality schools, and were more likely to graduate with a four-year degree, when their families experienced gains in housing wealth; and (3) This analysis suggests that the recent housing bust and resulting decrease in wealth could negatively impact the postsecondary decisions of low- and middle-income families. The following is appended: Explaining the Research Strategy. Contains endnotes. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Economic Mobility Project. Available from: Pew Charitable Trusts. 901 E Street NW 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20004. Tel: 202-540-2000; Fax: 202-552-2299; e-mail: pcs-feedback@pewtrusts.org; Web site: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/archived-projects/economic-mobility-project
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01