Educational Inequality and Welfare State Patterns

Previous research on social stratification reveals that social inequalities in educational and thus occupational opportunities are still very relevant features of modern societies. Against this background the study focuses on the intergenerational reproduction of educational inequalities and how this reproduction is affected by specific welfare state patterns in 13 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). For the analyses micro-data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and macro-data from several sources (e.g. Eurostat, OECD and UNESCO) are used. With this approach it is possible to combine a multi-level perspective in a two-level model. A broad comparative perspective allows the identification of different institutional influences, namely direct or indirect governmental investments in education, national specific shifts in the labour market as well as demographic changes. In general, multi-level estimates on 33,346 individuals – born between 1950 and 1984 – show the perpetual importance of the family of origin and the reproduction of educational inequalities over generations. Furthermore, the overall hypothesis that both welfare state arrangements and labour market indicators have an influence on the educational attainment is confirmed. In addition, contextual characteristics can partly counter the influence of social origin and therefore reduce the intergenerational transmission of educational opportunities.