Despite improved access to all educational levels, many countries around the world struggle with integrating young people into the labor market. The 2007 economic crisis exacerbated the problem, but not all countries were affected in the same way. This led to a vivid debate about how education...

In this article, we argue that every typology should be constructed in a systematic, transparent process. Moreover, to validate a typology's explanatory value, a typological approach must rest on a strong theoretical foundation. We both propose such an approach and apply it to construct three...

Social institutions are relatively stable patterns of behavior or joint action that help overcome fundamental problems and perform a function in society. The robustness of such institutions underlies their effectiveness at solving problems, but such robustness is difficult to assess. Building on...

The Swiss vocational education and training (VET) system is held in high regard by other countries. Young skilled workers from Switzerland consistently secure top marks at world skills competitions. But how has the social status of VET developed relative to that of baccalaureate schools? What...

This paper analyses how the social status of vocational education and training (VET) in Switzerland has changed over time and how it differs across population groups. The applied measure for the social status of VET compares the cognitive abilities (measured by PISA scores) of prospective...