Social inequalities in entry into formal employment among higher education graduates

Abstract

The article analyzes the relationship between social background of graduates from different areas of study and sectors of higher education and two outcomes in the labor market: entry into formal employment and employment in occupations considered typical for their area of study. We used data from the National Exam for the Assessment of Student Performance (Enade) 2009 to 2011 and the Annual Social Information Report (Rais) 2013 to 2015, and calculated logistic and multinomial models. The main results show that qualitative differences in higher education matter for the relationship between graduates’ social origin and their position in the labor market.

Keywords:
Horizontal stratification; Higher education; Labor market; School-work transition