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Selective schooling and social mobility in England

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  • Buscha, Franz
  • Gorman, Emma
  • Sturgis, Patrick

Abstract

We assess whether changing from an academically selective to a comprehensive schooling system promotes social mobility, using England as a case study. Over a period of two decades, the share of pupils in academically selective schools in England declined sharply and differentially by area. Using a sample of census records matched to data on selective schooling, we exploit temporal and geographic variation in the proportion of pupils attending selective schools to estimate the effects of schooling system on intergenerational social mobility. Our results provide no support for the contention that the move from selective to comprehensive schooling had a notable effect on social mobility in England. The findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity and robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Buscha, Franz & Gorman, Emma & Sturgis, Patrick, 2023. "Selective schooling and social mobility in England," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:81:y:2023:i:c:s0927537123000118
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102336
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social mobility; Selective schooling; Grammar schools; Intergenerational mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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