Educational Inequality and Life Course Trajectories: Trends for Men with Low Education in Early Adulthood

Jonathan Wörn
Miriam Evensen , Institute for social research

Education is a key predictor of life outcomes, including labor market success, family formation, and health. This study examines: (1) trends in educational differences in employment, income, and childlessness over time; (2) the extent to which these differences can be attributed to changes in family background composition across educational groups; and (3) the role of cognitive abilities and physical health traits, such as weight and height, in explaining these differences. Using administrative register data linked with military conscription records for full birth cohorts of Norwegian-born men (1955–1990), we analyze employment, income, and parenthood alongside cognitive and physical traits. Our findings reveal growing educational inequalities in early adult outcomes. Employment rates for men with less than upper secondary education fell from over 90% to 66%, while rates for higher-educated groups remained stable. We also found that median income increased for higher-educated groups but seems to stagnate for lower-educated groups, thereby increasing the gap between low and higher education. Childlessness rose most steeply among low-educated men. However, cognitive and physical traits, such as height, remained stable among low-educated men. These results highlight the growing labour-market demands, rather than purely selection explanations, as key drivers of rising inequalities.

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 Presented in Session 14. Flash Session Inequality Dimensions of Human Capital