A recent study by Herman van de Werfhorst explores the impact of educational expansion on intergenerational mobility across 40 countries. Educational expansion refers to the increase in the proportion of people reaching higher levels of education within a society. This process involves broader access to education and growing participation in secondary and tertiary education over multiple generations. It is often driven by policies such as raising the compulsory schooling age, improving secondary and tertiary education access, and expanding educational facilities.

The theory behind educational expansion posits that by providing more people with the opportunity to attain higher levels of education, socioeconomic inequalities can be reduced, and intergenerational mobility can improve. Education is view as a crucial link between parents’ socioeconomic status (origin) and their children’s eventual socioeconomic status (destination).

The idea that increased educational opportunities automatically lead to a meritocratic society has faced considerable criticism, particularly in the United States, where socioeconomic barriers often remain pervasive. However, this study points in a different direction.

Using data from various countries and cohorts, the research shows that educational expansion contributes to a decline in socioeconomic persistence between generations. This means that certain aspects of parental status, such as occupation, income, education level, or social class, have less influence on their children’s opportunities and living conditions. High persistence indicates a society with limited social mobility, where parental status strongly determines children’s outcomes. The article analyzes this persistence by examining the relationships among three factors: a person’s background (origin), their educational attainment (education), and their eventual socioeconomic position (destination).

The findings suggest that people are increasingly likely to achieve better socioeconomic positions regardless of their background. Notably, this progress is not entirely counteracted by elite families attempting to maintain their status through other means, such as exclusive educational programs or expensive institutions.

Interestingly, the study reveals that the direct benefits of higher education are more pronounced for individuals from less privileged backgrounds. This indicates that education can serve as an equalizing force despite concerns about the “effective maintenance” of inequality, where elites manage to secure the best opportunities even within broader educational levels.

What makes this research relevant? It offers a nuanced perspective on the role of education in social mobility. It demonstrates that policies aimed at expanding access to education, such as raising compulsory schooling ages or delaying academic tracking, can have a tangible impact. At the same time, nuances remain: not every country or historical period shows the same trends, and in some contexts, expansion may even coincide with increased inequality.

Nevertheless, the core message is optimistic: education, despite its critics, remains one of the most powerful tools for reducing inequality. These findings provide hope, especially for policymakers striving for greater equity in opportunities and outcomes. It serves as a reminder that well-thought-out structural changes have the potential to create a more sustainable and just society.

Abstract of the study

In the face of continued socioeconomic inheritance, the belief that the simple expansion of educational opportunities will create meritocratic societies has been met with skepticism. It is well documented that within expanding educational systems, class-advantaged families attempt to secure further advantages for their offspring. Conversely, for many, the modernist belief that educational expansion is a means to achieving a fairer society remains compelling. Studying trends in intergenerational occupational mobility in 40 countries from four continents, I examine whether educational expansion enhances occupational mobility, and whether such trends are counteracted by heightened persistence between social origin and destination within education groups. The results indicate that educational expansion over time, and the policies supporting it, are linked to improved intergenerational occupational mobility. Furthermore, this increased mobility through expanded educational opportunities is not negated by a strengthening of within-education elite persistence in occupational status, suggesting that occupational mobility patterns can genuinely change through educational expansion. The modernist ideology around educational expansion as a driver of social mobility may warrant renewed attention.