Educational expansion and field of study: trends in the intergenerational transmission of educational inequality in the Netherlands

In this paper we study to what extent parental field of study affects a person's educational level and field of study. We employ information on 8800 respondents from the Family Survey Dutch Population (1992-2009). Our results first of all show that, over the last five decades, economic fields of study have become more fashionable among men. In sharp contrast, mainly tracks in agriculture have lost most of their appeal. Among women, medical, economic and socio-cultural fields have gained attractiveness. Second, we established that parental field of study is of significant importance for reaching a high level of education for children, and that the relevance of parental field of study is increasing over the years. Moreover, symmetry in fields could be established when it comes to the intergenerational transmission of field of study. Our results support the idea that educational expansion does not necessarily lead to increasing meritocracy in western societies.