Inequality

Overview

As an instrument to create equal starting opportunities, education policy takes a central role in the social market economy.

In our international research, early childhood education and tracking have proven important factors for equality of opportunity.

Mentoring is an important approach to improve the labor-market prospects of disadvantaged adolescents.

In the ifo Education Survey, we find a large educational aspiration gap by educational background. Information on economic returns and costs of higher education cannot reduce this gap.

In the United States, the educational achievement gap by socioeconomic background has been large and remarkably constant for a near half century.

Providing information about the extent of educational inequality strongly increases public concerns about educational inequality but only slightly increases (already high) support for equity-oriented education policies.