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Title: A Dozen Economic Facts About K-12 Education

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: The Hamilton Projects mission is advancing opportunity, prosperity, and growth. On both the individual and society-wide levels, a strong public education system enables Americans to achieve those objectives. Indeed, education has historically been the great equalizer and offered students of all backgrounds not the promise of equal outcomes but the prospect of equal opportunity. It has allowed for the growth and development of a thriving middle class, and it has helped make the proverbial rags-to-riches story not just a possibility but a narrative that is inherently American. Education is a powerful force for promoting opportunity and growth. It is not surprising that an individuals educational attainment is highly correlated with her income: college graduates generally earn more than less-educated Americans. More alarming, however, the gap between college graduates and everyone else has been getting bigger. Over the past forty years, incomes for graduates have gone up by more than one-third, while incomes for those with only a high school diploma have stagnated; Americans who do not complete high school today actually earn less than similar Americans did in 1970 (figure 1).What might be less obvious is that education is also a significant determinant of many other very important outcomes, including whether individuals marry, whether their children grow up in households with twoparents, and even how long they will live.Whats more, on all of these dimensions, the gap between highly educated and less-educated Americans is getting biggerin some cases, much bigger. These changes have contributed to the dramatic increase ininequality in American society, and many believe they are laying the seeds for future increases in inequality. These trends are unsettling in their own right but can also undermine our countrys future: high rates of inequality can cause people to lose faith in the shared American project, making it difficult for policymakers to pursue the pro-growth strategies that allow living standards to rise over the long run...

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Authors: Patashnik, Jeremy; Looney, Adam; Greenstone, Michael; Li, Karen; Harris, Max

Publisher: The Hamilton Project Policy Memo

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Education

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