In Egypt, before 1952, education, especially higher education, was the province of a privileged few. After the 1952 Revolution, in pursuit of social justice and economic development, Egypt's leaders eliminated fees, instituted a universal admission examination, promised government employment to all graduates of higher education, and expanded the number of places. Officials expected these policies to increase inclusiveness as enrollments grew. We examine the period from 1988 through 2005, when egalitarian policies remained in place, and during which enrollments continued to expand rapidly. Despite this growth, we find that inclusiveness did not change for males and, at best, modestly improved for females. Young adults from the wealthiest families maintained a substantial advantage in the likelihood of enrolling in higher education. At the same time, females, and notably females from poor families, came to make up a larger share of the higher education community.

The relationship between social insurance, which provides families protection against certain risks, and child economic security is understudied. Using the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) matched to Social Security Administration benefit records, this article investigates the economic welfare effects of the child component of the US Social Security program. We examine how the poverty rate of child beneficiaries would change, absent Social Security income, and how heavily the family incomes of these children rely on it, by family characteristics. Our findings reveal that Social Security plays an important role in mitigating economic insecurity among children deprived of a wage-earning parent through disability, death, or retirement. Family structure, earnings, and employment status are identified as key factors moderating the effect of Social Security on child recipients' financial circumstance.