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Department for Children, Schools and Families. The views expressed in this work are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the DCSF. All errors and omissions remain the authors. Executive Summary There is a large gap in higher education attainment between different groups of society, especially along gender, class and ethnic dimensions. Reducing these gaps in attainment has been at the forefront of policy makers, not only in this country but also in most advanced economy with policies ranging from financial support to positive discrimination. However, policies can only be effective if the reasons behind these gaps are understood. Several explanations have been suggested to explain these gaps. Economists have focused on market failures and particularly that in the absence of collateral, students from some background may be unable – or unwilling – to finance their education by loan. This suggests that policies of grants should reduce the attainment gap; however evidence of the efficiency of these policies has been mixed. Another reason for not investing in higher education may be a lack of information on the cost