This article analyses the evolution of the inuence of social background on educational and occupational achievement across the 20th century in France. We use pooled data from the French Labour Force surveys for the period 1982-2014 and undertake an analysis of 11 birth cohorts born between 1918 and 1984. We demonstrate that social background inequality in terms of access to higher education has diminished across cohort, even within the highest and most selective educational levels such as the grandes écoles. However, we also document, as Torche (2011, 2016) did in the United States, the existence in France of a U-shape pattern in the intergenerational transmission of advantages across levels of education. Thus, contrary to previous assertions (Hout 1988), the inuence of social background on social destination does not necessarily declines linearly with educational level. Altogether, these ndings question the greater meritocratic nature of the labour market among the highly educated and call for more research to be undertaken on the inuence of non-meritocratic assets related to social background on the recruitment process and occupational career development.
Heurs et malheurs de l'apprentissage en SuisseLes limites du culte de la formation professionnelle : comment le système éducatif suisse reproduit les inégalités sociales The limits of the cult of vocational education and training : how the Swiss educational system reproduces social inequality Die Grenzen des Berufsausbildungs-Kultes : Wie das schweizerische Bildungssystem soziale Ungleichheit reproduziert Los límites del culto de la formación profesional : cómo el sistema educativo suizo reproduce las desigualdades sociales
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