Events

This talk considers whether and how macro-level policy changes can affect the intergenerational transmission of inequality, using Germany as a case. It first discusses the most-likely case of German unification and examines whether the sweeping institutional changes that accompanied it affected the level of equality of educational opportunity in the country. It then turns to one specific reform, the increase of compulsory schooling that was implemented in German states in the 1950s and 1960s. Using a quasi-experimental design, the effects of this reform on the relative educational and labour market chances of individuals from unskilled working class backgrounds are examined. 

The Sociology Seminar Series is convened by Richard Breen and Ridhi Kashyap. For more information about this or any of the seminars in the series, please contact sociology.secretary@nuffield.ox.ac.uk.