Inequality of Opportunity in Educational Achievement in Western Europe: contributors and channels

Gustavo Marrero, Juan Palomino and Gabriela Sicilia ()
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Gabriela Sicilia: Universidad de La Laguna

No 612, Working Papers from ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality

Abstract: Evidence on inequality of opportunity in terms of educational achievement (IOpE) has not yet explored the relevance of different contributors and channels. Using the latest microdata from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment, we find that IOpE accounts, on average, for 32% of total educational inequality in Western Europe, with substantial variation across countries. Differences in households’ cultural environment and in parental occupation are the most important contributors, with school’s characteristics being also relevant in Central Europe. We then estimate for the first time the role of channelling variables in translating differences in circumstances into different educational achievement. In most countries, students’ educational and occupational expectations, their reading habits and skills, and the repetition of previous courses are the most influential channels. These findings provide policymakers with key insights to design educational interventions to effectively increase educational -and, ultimately, social- opportunities across European countries.

Keywords: Education systems; Inequality of opportunity; Channels of transmission; Western Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 I24 I28 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2022-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-eur
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http://www.ecineq.org/milano/WP/ECINEQ2022-612.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: Inequality of opportunity in educational achievement in Western Europe: contributors and channels (2024)
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