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This study adopts an Inequality of Opportunity perspective to explore how capital constraints and normative expectations shape preparatory skill accumulation and aspirations, producing anticipatory inequality in AI-related skilling before labour market entry among female undergraduates in Pakistan.

Paper long abstract

Inequalities in opportunity are emerging even before individuals enter the labour market as artificial intelligence adoption accelerates. While much of the existing research focuses on up- and re-skilling as adaptation strategies in response to automation and job displacement, employability uncertainty is also reshaping aspirations and impacting preparatory skill accumulation. Before entering the workplace, universities are serving as sites of adaptation. However, the opportunities to prepare for an uncertain and dynamic world of work are not distributed evenly among students. This proposed paper examines how capital constraints and normative expectations influence student preparatory capacity and shift aspirations among female undergraduate students in Lahore, Pakistan. The Inequality of Opportunity framework (Roemer, 1998) shall underpin the analysis, wherein AI-related skilling opportunities are conceptualized as outcomes determined by circumstances beyond individual control that constrain agency. Taking perceived adequacy of the ongoing formal degree programmes as a point of departure, access to informal learning opportunities, such as self-learning micro-credentialing, shaped by economic means, information exposure, peer effects, gendered narratives and responsibilities shall be explored through qualitative analysis. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews will be conducted with 22-24 students from two different universities, one co-educational and one women only, to map opportunity sets associated aspirational shifts. This paper contributes to debates on skill gaps and aspirations in an AI-driven world by foregrounding anticipatory inequality formation in a developing country context. It further provides the foundation for further research on aspiration-opportunity alignment and higher education’s approach to employability skills pathways in Pakistan.

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Using mixed methods in Patna, India, this study analyzes what factors determine individual's aspiration for “good” or “bad" jobs. FGDs, interviews, and a survey experiment show that beyond pay, autonomy, and flexibility, caste and gender norms strongly shape job preferences and aspirations.

Paper long abstract

This article examines both objective and culturally constructed notions that determine whether a job is considered “good” or “bad.” We employ a mixed-methods approach in Patna, India, drawing on data from two focus group discussions (FGDs), 20 qualitative interviews, and a conjoint experiment embedded in a survey of 788 workers across multiple industries. Qualitative findings show that while monetary returns, perceptions of power, social status, and autonomy are central to how individuals evaluate jobs, gender and caste norms and expectations also shape occupational preferences and aspirations. The conjoint experiment confirms the salience of caste and gender norms, alongside the importance of salary, flexibility, and autonomy. Overall, our results indicate that although “objective” criteria matter, social and gender norms significantly influence attitudes toward occupations.

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In this paper we document persistent differences across socioreligious groups in acquiring tertiary education in India. Using the most recent employment survey data (PLFS), we calculate differences in returns to tertiary education that shows widening gap across the socioreligious groups.

Paper long abstract

In this paper, we document persistent differences in completion of tertiary education and calculate returns to education across in India. We deploy unit level data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey for the year 2023-24. For calculating/estimating returns to education, we use Mincerian Wage Equation and correct for sample selection bias using Heckman’s model. We find that returns to education is positive and increases with every additional level of education for entire sample of those employed. However, when we estimate the returns to education by employment type, for regular wage/salaried employment, returns increase monotonically and to a lesser extent for self-employment. We also find that that there is no significant relation between wages and education for the casual workers. The socio-economic factors like socioreligious groups, gender and place of residence etc appear to play an important role in determining income and employment probabilities. Our analysis suggests that at the higher levels of education, i.e. graduate and above, returns are significantly higher than those for below the graduate levels with prominent variation across socioreligious. We suspect that differences in the quality of tertiary education might explain the socioreligious group differences. It implies, therefore, that additional years of education, specially technical degrees and diploma/certificate (both below and above graduation) yield better returns.

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Paper short abstract

The study (Ecuador, 2009–2019) finds that higher education and STEM jobs raise inequality through a “composition effect,” while no “structural effect” reduces it, especially from 2014–2019. STEM fields show no equalizing impact due to economic and institutional constraints.

Paper long abstract

This study examines the relationship between labor income inequality, higher education, and STEM occupations in Ecuador from 2009 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2019, considering techniques, degrees, and postgraduate education. It analyzes the “composition effect” and the “structural effect” using the Recentered Influence Function (RIF). The “composition effect” measures how much inequality increases due to the influx of more workers with higher salaries. Conversely, the “structural effect” measures the extent to which inequality is reduced by increasing the total resources allocated to the wage bill and how these resources are redistributed. The results show no evidence of a structural effect of higher education from 2014 to 2019. The “structural effect” does not occur in STEM fields. The inability to reduce inequality in STEM occupations in Ecuador is linked to the economy's structural limitations and the institutional framework of the Andean country.

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Paper short abstract

Youth un- and underemployment remains one of the most pressing challenges, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research explores the factors that shape young people'ability to choose own career paths, despite challenging circumstances and to adapt to structural changes in the labour market.

Paper long abstract

Youth un- and underemployment remains one of the most pressing challenges, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s youngest region. The rapid rise of digital technologies and AI adds new complexity to our discussion on youth labour market participation. While there is an extensive body of literature examining the economic and social factors contributing to youth un- and underemployment in the region, less is known about how young people in Sub-Saharan Africa perceive their employment opportunities and their “work volition” - ability to choose own career paths, despite challenging circumstances. At the same time, studies from other regions suggest that these perceptions are crucial for understanding of young people´s career adaptability and their ability to navigate shifting labour markets.

This study seeks to address this research gap by examining work volition among young people living in urban centres of Sierra Leone. It employs a mixed-methods approach, combining 33 qualitative interviews with a structured survey (n=1502), conducted between September 2024 and April 2025. This research explores the factors that shape young people's work volition and their ability to adapt to structural changes in the labour market. It highlights the importance of both individual and socio-economic factors, providing a critical analysis of the structural inequalities that persist within the labour market. The study explores how age, ethnicity, educational background, gender, and employment status intersect, shaping young people's experiences in the changing labour markets.

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Paper short abstract

This study examines how educational assortative mating shapes inequality in Indonesia. Using counterfactual simulations, it shows positive assortative mating raises top household incomes but widens gender gaps, while narrowing them at the bottom under shared disadvantage.

Paper long abstract

Assortative mating, defined as the systematic, non-random sorting of partners along traits such as education, is a fundamental mechanism by which social mobility and inequality are shaped within a generation. Much of the literature on assortative mating has focused on inequality between households, but assortative mating clearly has implications for the unequal distribution of resources within couples as well. Focusing exclusively on aggregate outcomes assumes household income is pooled and partners share equally in resources, overlooking well-documented intra-household disparities. This omission is particularly consequential in developing contexts where gender wage gaps remain substantial.

This study examines how educational assortative mating relates to both between- and within-household inequality in Indonesia, a setting characterised by rapid educational expansion alongside persistent gendered labour-market disparities. Using the most recent data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey and a counterfactual simulation approach, I compare observed within-household income outcomes with simulated scenarios in which partners are matched according to alternative rules (random allocation, perfect homogamy, or systematic hypogamy), holding marginal education distributions constant.

The results show that educational positive assortative mating is associated with higher household resources at the top of the education distribution but simultaneously widens gender income gaps, as men continue to dominate earnings even when equally educated. At the bottom, positive assortative mating reduces income gaps but within conditions of shared economic disadvantage. By moving the analytical lens inside households, the study reveals a structural trade-off between household income maximisation and women’s relative economic position.