Does socioeconomic disadvantage boost the signalling value of education? Evidence from a survey experiment in the apprenticeship market

In this article we explore the question of whether the socioeconomic context in which educational credentials are obtained affects their signalling value. Signalling theory predicts that educational credentials in labour markets have a value beyond providing information on a person’s human capital. Educational credentials function as a filter, by selecting individuals who possess important productivity-related qualities. Theoretically, we would expect individuals who grew up in a socially disadvantaged context to need more productivity-related qualities to obtain any given educational credential. More specifically, we test the hypothesis that the signalling value of educational credentials will be larger for candidates with an immigration background and/or working-class parents. Empirically, we use data collected in a survey experiment carried out in the apprenticeship market in Switzerland. We find that socially disadvantaged candidates do receive a higher premium for a given credential, but only from male recruiters