The role of graduate education in the intergenerational reproduction of inequality in Chile

Following the massification of higher education and its extension into graduate studies, a key question in social mobility research focuses on the role of graduate education in relation to social inequality. This study provides empirical evidence for this debate by analyzing the extent to which graduate attainment mediates the relationship between social origin and wages among Chilean undergraduates. Drawing on survey data from 922 recent undergraduates of 17 Chilean universities, a structural equation model was estimated to assess the mediating role of graduate education in shaping labor-market outcomes. The results show that graduate studies play only a marginal role in this process, despite substantial wage gaps by social background. At the same time, the selectivity of the undergraduate institution accounts for approximately 30% of the relationship between background and earnings, while the field of study explains less than 10%. Although educational pathways are socially stratified at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, more than 60% of the wage gap operates directly. These findings suggest that the mediating role of graduate education is not universal, and that in contexts such as Chile, social reproduction appears to rely more on direct mechanisms linked to social closure and the mobilization of social and cultural capital.