Work

Within‐School Wealth Inequality and Learning Achievement: Evidence From PISA

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT A large body of literature has documented a strong economic gradient of educational outcomes, with pupils from richer households obtaining, on average, better outcomes than pupils from poorer households. However, there is surprisingly very little evidence on the role of aggregate economic inequality on individual educational attainment, once the economic circumstances of the household have been controlled for. Using the 2012, 2015 and 2018 waves from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we find a robust negative relationship between test scores and within‐school wealth inequality. Additionally, we observe that within‐school wealth inequality interacts with school mean wealth. This suggests that the role of inequality may differ depending on the economic milieu, being stronger for schools attended by pupils from more affluent families. We go beyond the standard econometric interpretation of this interaction term and provide a reading of it in terms of within‐school absolute inequality and aggregate relative deprivation.

Source: Review of Income and Wealth

DOI: 10.1111/roiw.70040

Authors: Lucas Néstor Sempé, Lucio Esposito

Institutions: International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, University of East Anglia

Language: English

Topic: School Choice and Performance

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,300