The Dynamics of Educational Attainment for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites

98 Pages Posted: 29 Apr 2000 Last revised: 24 Apr 2022

See all articles by Stephen V. Cameron

Stephen V. Cameron

Columbia University - School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA)

James J. Heckman

University of Chicago - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); American Bar Foundation; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: July 1999

Abstract

This paper estimates a dynamic model of schooling attainment to investigate the sources of discrepancy by race and ethnicity in college attendance. When the returns to college education rose, college enrollment of whites responded much more quickly than that of minorities. Parental income is a strong predictor of this response. However, using NLSY data, we find that it is the long-run factors associated with parental background and income and not short-term credit constraints facing college students that account for the differential response by race and ethnicity to the new labor market for skilled labor. Policies aimed at improving these long-term factors are far more likely to be successful in eliminating college attendance differentials than are short-term tuition reduction policies.

Suggested Citation

Cameron, Stephen and Heckman, James J., The Dynamics of Educational Attainment for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites (July 1999). NBER Working Paper No. w7249, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=202421

Stephen Cameron

Columbia University - School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA) ( email )

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James J. Heckman (Contact Author)

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