The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has released a new article analyzing wage disparities between workers with and without college degrees and the rising costs of higher education. The article traces tuition increases over the past two decades and how grant aid and student loan reliance have changed because of the tuition increases. It also highlights the ways historically Black colleges and universities and tribal colleges and universities are underfunded. The article aims to inform workforce practitioners and policymakers on improving economic mobility.

The article was written by Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., Director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Nyerere Hodge, Senior Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; and Stuart Andreason, Executive Director of Programs at the Burning Glass Institute and a member of the Heldrich Center’s National Advisory Board.

The article is the final part of a three-part series. The other articles in the series are:

Key Trends and Transformations in the 21st Century Labor Market

The Evolution of Key Worker Support Systems in the 21st Century