Co-authored by IER’s Dr Sangwoo LeeLink opens in a new window, the article longitudinally investigates the socioeconomic differentials in South Korean adolescents’ occupational aspiration development while they approach the post-secondary transition. The paper takes into account the two-fold relation between socioeconomic status and academic performance in shaping occupational aspirations: mediation and interaction.

Using the Korean Education and Employment Panel (KEEP), the study documents two main results. First, there exists a significant socioeconomic gap in Korean adolescents’ occupational aspirations which is neither widened nor narrowed over the transition period. Second, the relationship between socioeconomic status and academic performance is not limited to mediation but demonstrates a significant interaction in developing occupational aspirations.