Education levels as a dependent and independent variable: an analysis of the relationships between social origins, education attained, and employment

This article analyses the impact of social origin on educational attainment levels and examines how these can affect employment status and income. The focus is on the impact of social origin first on the education dimension (in terms of educational qualifications attained) and then on the occupational outcomes (in terms of in/out from the labour market) and income of Italians aged 31-68. These relationships are investigated using Italian data from the European Social Survey for 2016 and 2018. The aim is to isolate the socio-economic background's direct and indirect effects on the dimensions examined and observe how education mediates these impacts. The well-known "OED triangle" (Origin, Education, Destination) is considered to analyse the association between class origins, educational qualifications, and occupational and income outcomes (Blau & Duncan, 1967; Allmendinger, 1989; Budoki & Goldhtorpe, 2015; Bernardi & Ballarino, 2016; Hällsten & Yaish, 2022). In line with empirical research, results show that social origin directly impacts educational qualifications. This impact is absorbed by the level of education attained, which then spills directly into access to employment. Although the levels of education attained by the subjects mediate the direct effect of social origin on their position in the labour market, it is impacted by a socio-economic background equally directly.