Access to higher education in Europe: The role of labour market coordination, social policy, and educational institutions

Drawing on scholarship that situates education within broader political-economic contexts, this study examines the role of macro-level institutions in shaping cross-country variation in access to higher education across Europe. Using multilevel modelling and European Social Survey data, we analyse higher-education entry and examine how institutions beyond the education system are related to participation and to the role of family background. Labour market coordination coupled with tracking corresponds to lower overall chances of enrolment. At the same time, coordination can attenuate the influence of individual-level social factors, offsetting the stratifying effect of tracking. Public student financial aid is related to greater participation, but its equalising capacity is context-dependent, strongest in systems with high coordination and tracking. No statistically significant effects were found for social expenditures and unemployment protection. Ultimately, the interplay between labour market structures and educational institutions helps disentangle patterns of participation and inequality across political-economic models.