US: HE gap might slow economic mobility

The widening gap in higher education between rich and poor, and between whites and minorities, may lead to a downturn in economic mobility, making it harder for today’s poor to move up the income ladder, according to the authors of a major research report. It found that mobility had not changed significantly over the last three decades – though there was some evidence it might have worsened – and that family background remains a large predictor of future income, reports the New York Times.

The study, the most complete portrait yet of economic mobility, was prepared by scholars at the Brookings Institution in Washington and sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The study warns of a widening education gap between Hispanic and black Americans on the one hand and whites and Asians on the other, which may make it all the harder for minority youths to enter the middle class or higher.
Full report on the New York Times site