School of Economics 

 Invites you to a

Microeconometrics & Public Policy seminar presented by

Michael Vallely

(University of Glasgow)

The social origin pay gap in the UKHLS

Friday, 19 May 2023

12.00pm – 1.00pm 

Level 4 Seminar Room (441)

A02 Social Sciences Building

Camperdown Campus
The University of Sydney NSW 2006

This paper uses data from waves 1 to 9 (2009 – 2019) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) to analyse the social origin pay. As empirical work on the class wage penalty has already controlled for education and experience, then something else, beyond the narrow notion of human capital, must be explaining the pay gaps we observe. This paper explores the relative salience of indicators for human, social, and cultural capital in explaining labour market outcomes. Specifically, the paper explores the hypothesis that there is a broad range of attributes valued in the labour market beyond formal qualifications, that are correlated with social origin and that these can, at least partially, explain class wage penalties. The concepts of social capital and cultural capital emphasise a broader range of attributes that are valued in the labour market. Available evidence suggests social capital is positively associated with wages (e.g. Stone et al, 2004) and job quality (Franzen & Hangartner, 2006; Oesch & Ow, 2017). Whilst cultural capital has been used to explain socioeconomic variation in educational attainment (Tramonte & Willms 2009, De Graaf et al 2000), it is not prominent in research on the determinants of labour market outcomes. Combining these diverse insights, it is possible to see how social origin can influence earnings, independently of education.

For further information contact: Microeconometrics & Public Policy Seminar Coordinator
Dr Gregor Pfeifer (gregor-gabriel.pfeifer@sydney.edu.au)

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