Bloomberg View columnist cites research by Susan Dynarski about the education gap between rich and poor

March 5, 2013

President Obama's former director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, discussed research by Susan Dynarski in his latest column for Bloomberg View, "The Diploma Gap Between Rich and Poor."

In his column, Orszag discusses the causes and implications of a widening gap in college completion rates between students from rich and poor families. He cites a December 2011 study by Dynarski and University of Michigan colleague Martha Bailey that found the difference between the college completion rates for rich and poor students rose from 31 to 45 percentage points between the 1960s and the 1980s.

"At its heart, the widening gap in college completion rates between rich and poor students undermines the traditional American notion of equal opportunity," he writes. "It also represents a missed economic opportunity. Raising graduation rates among low- income students would significantly increase average educational attainment in the U.S. and, in so doing, bolster productivity."