Racial Earnings Gaps: The Role of Private Schooling, Technical Education and Graduate Degrees

Alysson Portella and Michael França

Journal of Development Studies, 2026, vol. 62, issue 4, 628-647

Abstract: Using Brazilian data from 2018 and 2019, we evaluate how having attended a private school, vocational education, and graduate degrees affect racial earnings gaps at the mean and throughout the distribution. The results show that racial inequalities are larger at the bottom and top of the distribution but smaller in the middle, especially in the region where the minimum wage binds. The factors that explain the racial gaps vary across the earnings distribution. The additional education variables are relevant only at the top of the distribution, while years of schooling, occupation, and unexplained factors also play a role. At the bottom, location and type of job contract are the most important factors. Racial gaps for men and women are similar on average, but differ at the top and in terms of contributing factors. Differences between Black and mixed-race workers are minimal and restricted to the bottom of the earnings distribution.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2025.2533901

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