It could be. It is believed that higher education level provides a higher opportunity for finding a prestigious job, so the gap increases between those with academic level and non-academics. According to Hofstede's cultural value, power distance is low among academics, that is, less inequality within academics and high inequality between academics and non-academics. Albeit, if there is no corruption in that society.
Dear Marcelo,
Abdolghani's reference to corrupt societies is indeed a buzz word. Education normally provides higher opportunities for job seekers; however, the relationship is made null and void in societies with higher degrees of inequality.
Best regards,
R. Biria
Dear Marcelo,
Pierre Bourdieu has introduced the term "cultural capital" as an important power dynamics within a society. I would start with his theories and take a look at OECD surveys that mention "educational mobility" - the comparison of educational attainment for parents and their children. Also, OECD provides quite a lot of data for employment opportunities in relation to educational attainment.
Another aspect of reliance on education as a "certificate of knowledge", which is symptomatic for environments with a high social inequality, is documented by the lack of correlation between literacy proficiency (also in OECD materials) and employment.
As was mentioned, corruption has an effect on the power distribution, but it is associated with acquiring cultural capital through financial means and familial ties. With an increasing presence of corruption the level of educational mobility decreases for any developed country. Alternatively, the reason for low educational mobility is a discriminative/ineffective educational system (which is sometimes the result of corruption). But I would not focus on corruption, there is plenty of direct correlations between education, opportunities and social inequality. Just take a look at such an extreme as Arabian countries with their perspective on women education equaling women opportunities equaling women rights.
Is there a specific country/region for which you wish your question answered?
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