Unpacking the link between education and inequality: Insights from the Stone Centre Conference

Understanding the intricate relationship between education and inequality is crucial for building a more equitable society.

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The Stone Centre conference on Education and Inequality, held on June 19th and 20th 2025 at UCL’s Department of Economics, brought together leading researchers from around the world to present their insights; from geographic disparities to family relationships, labour market outcomes, intergenerational mobility and more.

Organised by Stone Centre affiliates Pedro Carneiro and Michela Tincani, the event featured a packed schedule of in-progress papers, we’ll recap some key findings below. We encourage you to keep an eye on the Stone Centre events page and sign up for our mailing list to stay informed about future conferences.

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Day one: Relationships, geographic barriers, generational issues and affirmative action

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The first day of the conference featured presentations from Jack Mountjoy (Chicago), Anaïs Fabre (Toulouse School of Economics), Basit Zafar (Michigan), Michela Tincani (UCL), Viola Corradini (Columbia Business School), Chao Fu (Wisconsin-Madison), and Peter Arcidiacono (Duke University).

Jack Mountjoy's research, drawing on data from Norway and the US, highlighted a significant trend: colleges are increasingly serving as hubs for forming long-term relationships. This phenomenon leads to fewer graduates marrying non-graduates, increasing income inequality between graduate and non-graduate couples.

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Anaïs Fabre presented on how high moving costs in France create barriers for low-income students. While this limits their institutional choices and social mobility, it paradoxically limits ‘brain drain’ and maintains a graduate population in lower-income areas. Basit Zafar's work focused on disparities in college outcomes based on first-generation status, revealing that first-generation students often experience poorer academic results compared to their peers.

Amidst ongoing political discussions around DEI policies, two presentations particularly stood out. Michela Tincani shared insights into the educational and labour market impacts of affirmative action. Her research indicated that large preferential admissions positively benefit the long-term outcomes of targeted students, with women in particular seeing the greatest earnings gains. Men's earnings generally remained flat. Peter Arcidiacono continued this discussion with a work-in-progress paper challenging the notion that California’s Proposition 209, an amendment to the state constitution prohibiting state governmental institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, in public employment, public contracting, and public education, did not have a lasting long-term negative effect on underrepresented minority students.

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Day two: Disadvantage and social mobility

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Day two continued with presentations from Sue Dynarski (Harvard), Zach Bleemer (Yale), Caterina Calsamiglia Costa (IPEG), Gill Wyness (UCL), and Jack Britton (York).

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Sue Dynarski's presentation, "Insights on Inequality in Education," underscored the critical importance of initiatives supporting disadvantaged students. She specifically highlighted the impact of scholarship programs in addressing unequal access to higher education, using the University of Michigan's HALE program as a prime example. Susan showcased improvements in degree completion rates, college access, and educational credit achievement as a direct result of such programs.

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Sue recently delivered an excellent ‘big picture’ overview on higher education and inequality in the US at our 2025 Stone Centre public lecture. Read the write up here.

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Later in the day, Jack Britton presented a paper on higher education and social mobility. Echoing points from day one, Britton's analysis of data from 90 of England's largest universities revealed that poorer students are less likely to attend higher education and, even when they do, are more likely to enrol in lower-quality programs, even when controlling for ability. His data strikingly showed that higher education sorting can explain 25% of the socioeconomic status earnings gap.

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Roundtable: University admissions as a tool for social mobility.

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The day concluded with a policy roundtable on university admissions as a tool for social mobility. The panel, featuring Jess Lister (Public First), Lindsey Macmillan (UCL), and The Rt Hon Lord Willetts (House of Lords), and chaired by Camille Terrier (Queen Mary), engaged in an energetic discussion about the challenges faced by students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. A key point raised was that predicted grades often underestimate the ability of students from disadvantaged backgrounds , which can restrict their access to higher-ranked institutions with the greatest potential for impacting their mobility.

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The panel also noted that the UK boasts a relatively low university drop-out rate, largely thanks to financial support for low-income students. However, retaining these students beyond the undergraduate level remains a challenge. As educational costs continue to rise, the idea of a lifelong study loan to replace the current undergraduate loan was discussed as a potential solution. Lord Willetts advocated for universities to prioritise employability over research, citing institutions like Oxford Brookes that are highly praised for teaching but may be perceived as less attractive due to their absence from popular research-based rankings. As the discussion wrapped up, Lord Willetts raised a concern about potential future legislative changes in the Renter’s’ Rights Bill, suggesting that restricting private landlords from renting to students could further disadvantage students from low-income backgrounds.

These two days offered a wealth of new research on education and inequality from a diverse group of academics and professionals. Stay connected with the Stone Centre on LinkedIn, Bluesky and via our newsletter for updates on our future events.

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