The role of social capital in the job quality of Chilean university graduates

The over-saturation of labour markets in some countries has led to a devaluation of university degrees and reshaped the factors determining employability for higher-quality jobs. As a result, the social capital of graduates has emerged as an essential resource in addressing these challenges. This study examines the influence of social capital on the job quality of Chilean university graduates, distinguishing between first-generation (FG) and continuing-generation (CG) graduates. The level of social capital was estimated based on the frequency of contact with professionals and managers. Latent class analysis was employed to identify four distinct classes of job quality. Two multinomial regression models were then estimated, one for FG graduates and one for CG graduates, to assess the impact of social capital on the probability of belonging to each job quality class. The results show that frequent contact with other professionals enhances the likelihood of graduates securing high-quality jobs, with the magnitude of this effect being more pronounced for CG graduates. Frequent contact with managers is relevant for FG graduates but not for CG graduates. These findings demonstrate the persistence of socioeconomic inequalities once graduates enter the labour market. However, they also highlight the role of social capital in levelling the playing field for access to good jobs.