Reconsidering the ‘Meritocratic Power of a College Degree.’

• In Event: 2303 - Causes and Consequences of Educational Inequality

Abstract

Previous research has shown that the intergenerational transmission of advantage disappears once individuals obtain a bachelor’s degree, known as the equalization thesis or the meritocratic power of a college degree. This paper revisits the origin-destination association using three large sample (40,000+) of the National Survey of College Graduates, for birth cohorts between 1938 and 1985. Contrary to the equalization thesis, we find that parental education and parental income are associated with substantially higher incomes among offspring with baccalaureates. Type of college attended only partly explains this intergenerational transmission. Intergenerational effects across three decades support the social reproduction perspective for college graduates.

Authors

• Dirk Witteveen, Nuffield College, University of Oxford

• Paul A. Attewell, CUNY, Graduate Center