Economic Crisis and Inequality of Educational Opportunity in Latin America

Abstract

Research in the industrialized world shows that the influence of family background on educational attainment has remained stable or declined over time. In contrast, very little is known about the developing world. Using high-quality data sets and a standard protocol, this article offers a comparative analysis of trends in educational stratification in four Latin American countries—Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Latin America provides an interesting case study because the economic crisis and structural adjustment in the 1980s led to declines in family income, which may have resulted in growing inequality of educational opportunity. Findings are consistent with this hypothesis. They show a marked increase in socioeconomic inequality at the secondary and postsecondary levels for the cohorts that experienced the economic crisis. In addition, there is a decline in inequality in the lower educational transitions, which is explained by their universalization, a reduced advantage of males, and in some cases a growing advantage of females.