Desigualdad en el logro de educación superior y su efecto en el estatus ocupacional.Un Análisis Comparado entre Argentina, Chile, España e Italia

This article analyzes inequality in higher education attainment and its impact on occupational status from a comparative perspective across Argentina, Chile, Spain, and Italy circa 2020. The study incorporates a temporal dimension through a cohort analysisto investigate whether educational expansion has led to democratization in higher education graduation and whether there have been changes in educational returns. The study is based on a quantitative methodology using three representative surveys of individuals aged 30 to 70: the European Social Survey (2018) for Italy and Spain, the PISAC-COVID Survey (2021) for Argentina, and the Chilean Longitudinal Social Study (ELSOC, 2021). Multivariate logistic and linear regression models, average marginal effects,and graphical representations are employed. The results of the comparative study suggest that greater educational expansion and a more equitable social structure have a positive effect on the probability of higher education graduation among individuals from medium and low educational backgrounds (as seen in Spain). However, vertical inequality persists in all four countries, supporting Hout and Raftery's hypothesis. Higher education degrees remain the most significant channels for achieving occupational status, yet family educational background continues to play an independent role in occupational stratification across the four countries. The effect of educational attainment on occupational status is stronger in countries where educational expansion has been more limited (Italy and Argentina), supporting the hypothesis of education as a positional good.