The international surveys of pupil achievement – PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS – have been widely used to compare socioeconomic gradients in children’s cognitive abilities across countries. Socioeconomic status is typically measured drawing on children’s reports of family or...

In this paper we consider whether certain countries are particularly adept (or particularly poor) at getting children from disadvantaged homes to study for a bachelor’s degree. A series of university access models are estimated for four English speaking countries (England, Canada,...

A number of studies have explored the link between family background and children's achievement in a cross-national context. A common finding is that there is a stronger association in England than other parts of the developed world. Rather less attention has been paid, however, to England's...

Research on educational and occupational achievement of immigrants in Europe has mainly followed an assimilationist approach, focused on comparisons with natives or other immigrant groups (see for example Heath & Cheung 2007). However, this may not be at all the perspective that migrants...

There is currently a debate in policy circles about access to "the upper echelons of power" (Sir John Major, ex Prime Minister, 2013). This research seeks to understand the relationship between family background and early access to top occupations. We find that privately educated graduates are a...

The paper studies the role of class of origin in the occupational outcomes of ethnic minorities and British natives in the UK. Two main hypotheses are tested. The first states that the class of origin helps explaining differences in occupational outcomes between ethnic minorities and natives...