Trends in the Socioeconomic Achievement of the University Educated: A Status Attainment Model Interpretation
Abstract
The paper examines the contribution the sociologist's status attainment model makes towards comprehending reasons for the decline, since the mid 1960's, in the economic prospects of university graduates. The assumptions of the model are compared with those underlying an economist's labour market approach, in which explanations are phrased in terms of aggregate demand and supply for the university educated. Tested in the paper is the hypothesis that decline in background endowments among university graduates, a consequence of the policy commitment to democratize access to Canadian universities, accounts for some of the downward trend in the level of job obtained by graduates entering the labour market. The statistical analysis uses data from Ontario and Canada-wide surveys, and finds that changes in father's mean status explain only a small part of the drop in son's first job status. Th e mod el suggests that deterioration in univer- sity completion rates can account for more of the decline.
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1980-12-31
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