The paper investigates the relationship between aspirations and inequality in higher education participation. Specifically, I evaluate the impact of a nationwide UK policy aimed at raising aspirations towards college education in pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds by involving them in outreach activities.
I find that the policy successfully raised the aspirations of the target students and their participation in post compulsory education. However, its final effect on college enrolment of students from disadvantaged backgrounds was negligible overall and appears concentrated among those from the most affluent families or with higher levels of pre-accumulated skills.
Published in 2020 in: Journal of Labor Economics, v. 38, 1, pp. 183-214
