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Posh but Poor: The Association Between Relative Socio‐Economic Status and Children’s Academic Performance
Author(s) -
Jerrim John,
LopezAgudo Luis Alejandro,
MarcenaroGutierrez Oscar David
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/roiw.12476
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , association (psychology) , position (finance) , demographic economics , academic achievement , psychology , socioeconomic status , longitudinal study , economics , economic growth , sociology , developmental psychology , demography , statistics , mathematics , psychotherapist , population , finance
It is well known that young people from more advantaged socio‐economic backgrounds have, on average, higher levels of academic achievement than their disadvantaged peers. Yet rather less is known about how the relative socio‐economic position of students might be related to their academic progression at school. This is the issue considered in this paper, using longitudinal administrative data covering the largest region within Spain. We find evidence that the relative socio‐economic position of students within their school is associated with grade retention, performance in standardized tests and attitudes towards school, even after controlling for the absolute level of their socio‐economic status. Our primary conclusion is that both absolute and relative social position matters for young people’s academic development.