Family background, secondary school and university prestige: Contributors to income inequality in Chile

Oscar Espinoza
Universidad de Playa Ancha and Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación Educativa, Chile
Luis Eduardo González
Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación, Chile
Noel McGinn
Harvard University, USA
Dante Castillo
Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación, Chile
Luis Sandoval
Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Chile

There is strong evidence that expansion of university enrolment contributes to economic growth. Less clear, however, is whether that expansion will reduce income inequality. Human capital theory argues that education provides graduates with the knowledge and skills to be more productive. As more students from disadvantaged families graduate from universities, the theory states, the effect will be greater income equality. If, however, salaries depend on characteristics linked to graduates' social origin, expansion can perpetuate inequality. This study examines the relationship between salary on graduation from university, and mother's education, prestige of secondary school and university attended, and graduates' perceptions of the quality of the university program completed. Data were collected from a sample of students in two degree programs in three universities in Chile. Salaries for graduates in psychology were unrelated to any of the independent variables. Salaries for graduates entering teaching were higher for those who attended more prestigious secondary schools.
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Authors: Dr Oscar Espinoza has worked for several international agencies including: World Bank, UNESCO, IDB, and the Ford Foundation. He is now at Universidad de Playa Ancha and the Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación Educativa, Chile. His areas of interest include higher education, educational policies, education and employment, quality assurance. Email: oespinoza@academia.cl, pirata14@hotmail.com Dr Luis Eduardo González, Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Educación (PIIE), has worked as consultant for several international agencies including: World Bank, UNESCO, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Ford Foundation. He holds an EdD in Educational Administration and Planning from Harvard University (USA). Email: legonzalez.fiegehen@gmail.com Web: http://www.piie.cl Dr Noel McGinn received his PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. He is Professor Emeritus of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Fellow Emeritus of the Harvard Institute for International Development. In 1998 he received the Andres Bello Award of the Organization of American States for Outstanding Contribution to Education in Latin America. Email: nmcginn@igc.org Web: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty/noel-mcginn Dante Castillo has authored and co-authored more than 30 publications, including books, chapters and articles. His interest areas are educational policies, school segregation, education and employment. He is pursuing a doctoral degree in education at University of Lyon 2, France. Email: dcastillo@estudiospiie.cl Luis Sandoval received his bachelor degree in History from Universidad Católica de Chile. He has worked in various managerial positions in Chilean universities including Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies. At present he is the Teaching Director at Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM). Email: lsandoval@utem.cl Please cite as: Espinoza, O., González, L., McGinn, N., Castillo, D. & Sandoval, L. (2018). Family background, secondary school and university prestige: Contributors to income inequality in Chile. Issues in Educational Research, 28(4), 918-939. http://www.iier.org.au/iier28/espinoza.pdf