Two consistent research findings in the social sciences relate to the relationship between economic and education variables, and therefore between education and poverty. Educational research has consistently found home background (socio-economic status) to be an important determinant of educational outcomes, and economic research has shown that education strongly affects earnings. There is substantial evidence that education can reduce poverty. This connection between education and poverty works through three mechanisms: firstly, more educated people earn more; secondly, more (and especially better quality) education improves economic growth and thereby economic opportunities and incomes; and thirdly, education brings wider social benefits that improve economic development and especially the situation of the poor, such as lower fertility, improved health care of children, and greater participation of women in the labour force.
