In a meritocratic society an individual's economic success is determined by their ability, not
by their parents' socio-economic status. We assess whether meritocracy has increased in
both the British education system and labour market. The richness of our longitudinal data
enables us to look at the complex inter-relationship between social class, ability, education
and labour market outcomes. In Britain the production of human capital (cognitive ability and
education) has become less meritocratic and more influenced by social background. Whilst
cognitive ability is an important determinant of labour market success, there is only mild
support for an increase in its importance.
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