Cohort changes in educational inequality

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of using birth cohorts to examine changes in educational attainments over time. It argues that birth cohorts underestimate the impact of educational expansion by ignoring the period in which attainments were actually completed. As an alternative, event cohorts—defined by the period in which a particular event occurs—may be used, especially for activities that do not take place on a regular or continuous basis. To this end, education cohorts defined by period of highest attainment have been devised. The respective merits of birth cohorts and event cohorts are compared using sample data on educational attainments in Australia. Event cohorts are found to have particular advantages in depicting changes in the level of attainments, and in identifying the sources of educational inequality.