Housing Wealth and Higher Education
Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility
- Economic Mobility Project
- Contact Samantha Lasky 202.540.6390
- December 1, 2011
Quick Summary
This August 2011 report, Housing Wealth and Higher Education: Building a Foundation for Economic Mobility, assessed how changes in housing wealth during the recent boom and bust affected students’ higher education decisions.
Report author Michael Lovenheim, assistant professor at Cornell University, developed a model using data from the 2001-2005 housing boom. The model showed that low- and middle-income students whose families experienced increases in housing wealth just before reaching college age were more likely to attend college, more likely to attend higher-quality universities, and more likely to graduate.
The report suggested that higher education decisions are highly sensitive to fluctuations in family resources.

Report Assets
- Date:
- December 1, 2011
- Contacts:
- Samantha Lasky | 202.540.6390
- Project:
- Economic Mobility Project
- Issues:
- Economic Mobility, Housing, Education