Russell Sage Foundation

To reduce child poverty and income instability, and eliminate extreme poverty among families with children in the United States, we propose converting the Child Tax Credit and child tax exemption into a universal, monthly child allowance. Our proposal is based on principles we argue should undergird the design of such policies: universality, accessibility, adequate payment levels, and more generous support for young children. Whether benefits should decline with additional children to reflect economies of scale is a question policymakers should consider.

The 2016 presidential election has brought to the fore proposals to fundamentally restructure the U.S. anti-poverty safety net. Even though much of the current debate centers on shrinking or eliminating federal programs, we believe it is necessary and useful to explore alternatives that represent new approaches and significant innovations to existing policy and programs. This double issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences builds on and extends the scholarly conversation on the state of current U.S.

The 2016 presidential election has brought to the fore proposals to fundamentally restructure the U.S. anti-poverty safety net. Even though much of the current debate centers on shrinking or eliminating federal programs, we believe it is necessary and useful to explore alternatives that represent new approaches and significant innovations to existing policy and programs. This double issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences builds on and extends the scholarly conversation on the state of current U.S.

The 2016 presidential election has brought to the fore proposals to fundamentally restructure the U.S. anti-poverty safety net. Even though much of the current debate centers on shrinking or eliminating federal programs, we believe it is necessary and useful to explore alternatives that represent new approaches and significant innovations to existing policy and programs. This double issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences builds on and extends the scholarly conversation on the state of current U.S.

College-for-all has become the new American dream. Most high school students today express a desire to attend college, and 90% of on-time high school graduates enroll in higher education in the eight years following high school. Yet, degree completion rates remain low for non-traditional students—students who are older, low-income, or have poor academic achievement—even at community colleges that endeavor to serve them. What can colleges do to reduce dropouts?

Early care and education for many children in the U.S. is in crisis. The period between birth and kindergarten is a critical time for child development, and socioeconomic disparities that begin early in children’s lives contribute to starkly different long-term outcomes for adults. Yet, compared to other advanced economies, high-quality child care and preschool in the U.S. are scarce and prohibitively expensive for many middle class and most disadvantaged families.

Contents

Part I. Introduction

U.S. Higher Education Effectiveness

Steven Brint and Charles T. Clotfelter

Overview of the Volume

Steven Brint and Charles T. Clotfelter

Part II. Supply and Demand: Cost and Distributional Outcomes

The Changing Landscape of Tuition and Enrollment in American Public Higher Education

Steven W. Hemelt and Dave E. Marcotte

Table of Contents

The Coleman Report at Fifty: Its Legacy and Implications for Future Research on Equality of Opportunity

Karl Alexander and Stephen L. Morgan

Part I. The Legacy of EEO and Current Patterns of Educational Inequality

Is It Family or School? Getting the Question Right

Karl Alexander

School Segregation and Racial Academic Achievement Gaps

Sean F. Reardon

Racial and Ethnic Gaps in Postsecondary Aspirations and Enrollment

Contents

Five Decades of Remarkable but Slowing Change in U.S. Women’s Economic and Social Status and Political Participation 1

Martha J. Bailey and Thomas A. DiPrete

Part I. Working Hours, Opting Out, and the Gender Wage Gap

The Opt-Out Continuation: Education, Work, and Motherhood from 1984 to 2012 34

Tanya Byker

Long Work Hours, Part-Time Work, and Trends in the Gender Gap in Pay, the Motherhood Wage Penalty, and the Fatherhood Wage Premium 71

Contents

Severe Deprivation in America: An Introduction

Matthew Desmond

Part I. Severe Deprivation Among the Young and Old

Trends in Deep Poverty from 1968 to 2011: The Influence of Family Structure, Employment Patterns, and the Safety Net 14

Liana Fox, Christopher Wimer, Irwin Garfinkel, Neeraj Kaushal, JaeHyun Nam, and Jane Waldfogel

Compounded Deprivation in the Transition to Adulthood: The Intersection of Racial and Economic Inequality Among Chicagoans, 1995–2013 35