Wealth-Based Inequalities in Higher Education Attendance: A Cross-National Analysis

• In Event: International Relations Committee Paper Session 2. Equity and Equality: Dilemmas and Cases Across International Contexts

Abstract

This study provides the most comprehensive global snapshot of wealth-based inequalities in higher education attendance. We draw on data from 131 countries to describe cross-national patterns in higher education attendance rates, disaggregated by wealth quintile and country income group. We calculate four different indicators to quantify the size of wealth-based inequality in higher education attendance and examine their association with various country-level factors. Our findings show large wealth-based inequalities in higher education attendance cross-nationally, which are: substantially larger in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. We find that countries' secondary completion rates, national wealth, economic inequality, political egalitarian policies, and world cultural connections are associated with reducing disparities among wealth groups and achieving universal access to higher education.

Authors

• Elizabeth Summer Buckner, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Yara Abdelaziz, OISE/University of Toronto
  Presenting Author