A Growing Divide: The Promise and Pitfalls of Higher Education for the Working Class

Abstract

This article is an analysis of recent dynamics in U.S. higher education, paying particular attention to how the market for higher education has changed since the Great Recession and how those changes have affected the working class. I examine the evolution of higher education over the past decade from the perspectives of both students and institutions, and document ways in which the Great Recession exacerbated inequality in access to college and outcomes among those who attend. While the expected return to attending college remains high, the downside risk (driven largely by student debt and a high degree of noncompletion) is also nontrivial. As in many other contexts, the burden of this risk is not shared equally across the population but is shouldered most acutely by students from low-income backgrounds, particularly among underrepresented minority groups.