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Parental education and the transition to master and PhD studies in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Montserrat Vilalta-Bufi

    (Departament d'Economia, CREB and BEAT, Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Roberto Dopeso-Fernández

    (Tecnocampus, Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Aleksander Kucel

    (Tecnocampus, Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Abstract

In a context of full equality of opportunity, bachelor graduates’ decision to pursue further studies should not be affected by social origin. Using Spanish data, we analyze the role of parental background on the decision to study for a master degree and a PhD degree. We find that parental background may increase up to 10 percentage points the probability of studying for a master degree and close to 2 percentage points the likelihood of studying for a PhD. We use the KHB method to decompose the parental background effects into direct and indirect ones (Karlson et al., 2012). Indirect effects collect parental background’s influence via previous studies. Our results show that the parental background effect is not mediated by previous studies’ characteristics. Parental education directly affects the probability of studying for a master and PhD degree for bachelor graduates. In contrast, we find negligible effects of parental background on the likelihood of studying for a PhD degree for the master graduates. Since not all master programs give access to PhD studies, we argue that the decision to pursue a PhD is likely taken just after bachelor studies. We conclude that equality of opportunity in Spain can be improved by promoting master and PhD study paths during bachelor studies to all students, with particular emphasis on females and those students with parents without university education.

Suggested Citation

  • Montserrat Vilalta-Bufi & Roberto Dopeso-Fernández & Aleksander Kucel, 2024. "Parental education and the transition to master and PhD studies in Spain," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2024/482, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ewp:wpaper:482web
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    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/219307
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Richard Breen & Kristian Bernt Karlson & Anders Holm, 2013. "Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects in Logit and Probit Models," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 42(2), pages 164-191, May.
    3. John E. Roemer & Alain Trannoy, 2016. "Equality of Opportunity: Theory and Measurement," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(4), pages 1288-1332, December.
    4. Jouni Helin & Kristian Koerselman & Terhi Nokkala & Timo Tohmo & Jutta Viinikainen, 2019. "Equal Access to the Top? Measuring Selection into Finnish Academia," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 90-100.
    5. Herman G. van de Werfhorst, 2024. "Is Meritocracy Not So Bad After All? Educational Expansion and Intergenerational Mobility in 40 Countries," American Sociological Review, , vol. 89(6), pages 1181-1213, December.
    6. Jouni Helin & Kristian Koerselman & Terhi Nokkala & Timo Tohmo & Jutta Viinikainen, 2019. "Equal Access to the Top? Measuring Selection into Finnish Academia," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 90-100.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Equality of opportunity; Transition to master; Transition to PhD; Parental background;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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