It has been widely documented that immigrants receive lower earnings than the majority of the population in most Western countries. Previous research has pointed to various forms of discrimination that affect immigrants’ wage rates. The authors discuss whether the source of this wage inequality can be found at the occupational level. In this article, the authors argue that occupational closures reduce within-occupation wage inequality. To test their expectations, the authors use Norwegian register data that span all employees. The results align with their expectations, as both occupational licensing and union density strongly reduce immigrant-majority earnings’ inequality. However, neither certifications nor credentialization reduces the immigrant-majority earnings gap.

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This study examines the links between parental education and students' choice of field of study in Norwegian higher education. In our interpretation of the results, we suggest a status group perspective that integrates risk aversion models, micro-class theory, and cultural reproduction schemes. Complete Norwegian register data for all individuals born from 1955 to 1980 allow for a fine-grained examination of diverse fields of study not attempted in earlier studies. The findings reveal that intergenerational reproduction of educational fields is widespread, but its extent varies across fields of study. The tendency is most pronounced among children of professional, educated parents with masters and higher-level degrees. Moreover, the analysis shows that students who do not choose the same field as their parents nonetheless tend to choose educational fields close to those of their parents.

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