First-Generation Graduates in OECD Countries

Alessandro Fabbri () and Michele Pellizzari ()
Additional contact information
Alessandro Fabbri: University of Geneva
Michele Pellizzari: University of Geneva

No 18231, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines earnings differences between first-generation and continuing generation college graduates across 24 OECD countries using data from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). In all but two of the countries analysed, first-generation graduates earn less than their peers from college-educated families, with an average gap across all countries of approximately 8%. We investigate potential mechanisms behind this result and find that first-generation graduates are less likely to pursue postgraduate education, more likely to hold vocational degrees, and tend to have lower cognitive skills. These findings highlight the need for policy interventions to enhance educational mobility and promote equality of opportunity.

Keywords: inequality; tertiary education; intergenerational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I23 I24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp18231.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18231

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().