Departamento Sociología y Comunicación

Desigualdad educativa y brecha territorial en España: un análisis comparativo entre Extremadura y Castilla y León

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

[ES]El objetivo de este estudio es analizar desde un punto de vista exploratorio las desigualdades territoriales en educación en dos comunidades autónomas como Extremadura y Castilla y León, a partir de datos del Informe PISA 2023. Ambas regiones poseen una base socio-económica similar y elevado índice de ruralidad. De los datos obtenidos se ha podido extraer que las diferencias entre territorios pueden explicarse por diferentes factores, entre los que se incluyen: la política autonómica, la organización escolar y la inversión. Se corrobora que el modelo de descentralización política acentúa las diferencias y que las divergencias educativas entre ambos territorios ponen en entredicho la cohesión territorial. Asimismo, se confirma que el contexto socioeconómico y sociodemográfico junto con las diferencias en el ámbito educativo tienen una dimensión territorial y multifactorial, donde la inversión autonómica junto con el modelo de política educativa implantado promueve una mayor cohesión social y territorial.[EN]The aim of this study is to explore territorial inequalities in education in two Spanish re-gions—Extremadura and Castilla y León—based on data from the PISA2022 report. Both re-gions share a similar socioeconomic background and a high degree of rurality. The analysis re-veals that the differences between these territories can be explained by several factors, including regional policies, school organization, and investment. The findings confirm that the political decentralization model amplifies disparities and that the educational divergences between the two regions challenge territorial cohesion.Moreover, the study confirms that the socioeconomic and sociodemographic context, as well as disparities in the educational sphere, have a territorial and multifactorial dimension. In this regard, regional investment combined with the implemented educational policy model plays a key role in fostering greater social and territorial cohesion.

From Digital Divides to Algorithmic Governance – AI and the Reproduction of Educational Inequalities

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming educational systems, reshaping how knowledge is produced, evaluated, and governed. Far from being a neutral technological enhancement, AI operates as a socio-technical infrastructure embedded in power relations that redistribute opportunities unequally across students, schools, and territories. This chapter analyzes the role of AI in the reproduction of educational inequalities from a sociological perspective, emphasizing how algorithmic systems amplify digital divides, reinforce structural and cultural biases, and introduce new forms of algorithmic governance that reshape agency, autonomy, and pedagogical decision-making. The discussion develops three interconnected analytical dimensions: the emergence of digital and algorithmic capital as forms of distinction that privilege advantaged learners; the reproduction of inequality through biased data, discriminatory predictions, and exclusionary platform design; and the rise of algorithmic governmentality, in which surveillance, metric-based accountability, and automated decision-making displace teachers’ professional judgment and shape student subjectivities through normalization and control. The chapter argues that addressing these dynamics requires ethical and political frameworks that prioritize transparency, accountability, inclusion, and democratic participation in the design and governance of AI in education. It concludes by calling for critical algorithmic literacy, participatory policy design, and culturally situated approaches capable of transforming AI into a tool for educational justice rather than a mechanism that reinforces existing hierarchies.

Electoral competition and unity in the European Radical Left

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

[ES] La presente tesis doctoral analiza la competencia electoral y las dinámicas de unidad entre partidos comunistas y formaciones de nueva izquierda radical en Europa Occidental, centrándose en aquellos contextos nacionales en los que ambas familias partidistas coexisten y compiten de manera sostenida. Este fenómeno, escasamente abordado por la literatura, se estudia de forma comparada a partir de los casos de Portugal, Grecia y Francia, los únicos países de Europa Occidental donde partidos comunistas históricos y nuevas izquierdas radicales mantienen simultáneamente representación parlamentaria. De manera complementaria, se incorpora un estudio de caso sobre España que permite analizar el paso de la competencia a la cooperación electoral en el seno de la izquierda radical. El objetivo principal de la investigación es identificar los mecanismos que explican la persistencia de ambas familias partidistas dentro de un mismo sistema político, así como los costes y beneficios derivados de sus estrategias de competencia y unidad. La hipótesis central sostiene que la coexistencia se explica por procesos de especialización electoral y territorial, mediante los cuales los partidos atraen a segmentos sociales y contextos geográficos diferenciados. La tesis se estructura en tres artículos empíricos. El primero analiza los determinantes individuales del voto a partidos comunistas y de nueva izquierda radical en Portugal, Grecia y Francia, a partir de datos de la European Social Survey y mediante modelos de regresión logística. Los resultados muestran que las diferencias entre electorados se concentran principalmente en el eje sociocultural, más que en el socioeconómico: los partidos comunistas tienden a atraer a votantes de mayor edad, vinculados a la clase trabajadora y con posiciones socioculturales más moderadas, mientras que las nuevas izquierdas movilizan a votantes más jóvenes, con mayor nivel educativo y actitudes claramente progresistas. El segundo artículo adopta una perspectiva de geografía política para examinar la especialización territorial del voto, combinando indicadores locales de autocorrelación espacial y modelos de regresión espacial. Los resultados indican que la relevancia del territorio varía según el país, siendo especialmente significativa en Portugal, más limitada en Grecia y prácticamente inexistente en Francia. El tercer artículo se centra en el caso español y analiza los efectos electorales de la coalición preelectoral entre Podemos e Izquierda Unida en las elecciones generales de 2016, mediante un diseño cuasiexperimental basado en datos de encuesta que permite medir el efecto causal del anuncio de la coalición en los votantes. Los resultados evidencian que los costes electorales de la cooperación tienden a concentrarse en el socio minoritario, lo que pone de relieve los dilemas estratégicos asociados a la unidad electoral. En conjunto, la tesis contribuye al estudio de la competencia intrafamiliar en la izquierda radical, al debate sobre el realineamiento de los cleavages y al análisis del papel del territorio y de las estrategias de cooperación en los sistemas de partidos.

Occupational dynamics and wage inequality in Europe

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]This article presents a comparative analysis of the role played by occupational changes in recent wage inequality trends in six European countries. This work contributes to a better understanding of how within- and between-occupation differences have influenced wage inequality trends in Europe. The database used is the European Union Structure of Earnings Survey for the period 2002–2018. The analysis shows two patterns in the share of wage inequality explained by between-occupation differentials: while the relative importance of between-occupation trends has grown in Finland and the UK, it has diminished in Spain, France, Poland and Romania. And although between-occupation differentials still account for a great share of total wages’ variance, changes in the occupational structure (in particular, the patterns of job polarisation and upgrading widely discussed in the literature) have not driven recent wage inequality trends in Europe. Wage inequality, instead, has been mostly driven by changes in wage differentials within occupations. Finally, we found that the explanatory significance of occupations markedly declines at the highest wage tiers.

Unpaid overtime and non-standard employment among young people in Europe: do national context and institutions matter?

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]This article presents a multilevel analysis of unpaid overtime among young people (aged 15–34) across EU-28 member states. It finds that non-standard employment and the specific characteristics and institutions of Europe’s labour markets are related to unpaid overtime. Use has been made of the European Union Labour Force Survey database for 2019. The econometric analysis shows that a national level and a greater scope of collective bargaining agreements, a higher rate of involuntary part-time employment and lower levels of unemployment expenditure increase the probability of unpaid overtime among young people. Furthermore, our results reveal that how flexibility is boosted in European countries drives unpaid overtime. Temporary employment, working from home and a higher number of hours worked are positively related to unpaid overtime, while part-time employment and temporary work agencies are negatively related. Finally, the older and higher educated young workers have a greater propensity towards unpaid overtime, while there is a negative effect of shift work and no significant one in terms of gender and the degree of protection against dismissal. Policy implications for the implementation of flexibility policies and working time regulations are also discussed.

Multiple jobholding and non-standard employment among young workers: a comparative analysis of EU-28 member states

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]This article presents a comparative analysis of multiple jobholding and non-standard employment among young people in EU-28 member states. This work contributes to the understanding of multiple jobholding among youth by connecting the empirical work to the issues of labour market flexibilisation in Europe. The database used is the European Union Labour Force Survey for 2019. Non-standard forms of employment have a positive effect on the likelihood of secondary jobholding, especially part-time work. There is a high rate of multiple jobholding in Nordic countries, whereas it is low in Mediterranean, Central and Eastern European countries, where the time spent in second jobs is high. Finally, there are statistically significant differences in the propensity toward multiple jobholding according to level of education, gender, age, and country of birth, while there is no noticeable effect of over-qualification, although there is on the search for another job.

Are active labour market policies effective for the older unemployed? A meta-evaluation

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]We present a meta-evaluation of the literature on the impacts of active labour market policies for unemployed people over 50, extracting 82 impacts for analysis. The meta-evaluation includes only impact evaluations that examine both a group of beneficiaries and a control group of comparable non-beneficiaries. On average, we find that active policies have a slightly negative effect (−0.8 percentage points) on the probability of unemployed people over 50 finding a job and that this negative effect disappears 24 months after policy implementation. However, this effect is very different when disaggregated by policy type. Direct job creation policies have a clear negative effect (−3.9 percentage points), and training policies have a positive average effect, either in isolation (2.4 percentage points) or when combined with search assistance or counselling (1.7 percentage points). We also find slight differences by gender, with the effect of active policies being greater for women than for men. These results have important implications, given that the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have made active policies the cornerstone of their efforts to improve the re-employment of older people. Our results support training policies, either in isolation or in combination with search assistance and counselling. The greatest impacts are obtained after 12 months of policy implementation.

Assessing national vs subnational population heterogeneities in a global context

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Quantitative demographic research is often conducted at the national level, largely due to data limitations and a lack of hypotheses about within-country variation. Yet national-level data can obscure important internal diversity, leading to potentially misleading conclusions about demographic patterns. Using the CORESIDENCE Database, we analyse subnational variation in household arrangements across 142 countries divided into 1788 subnational units. We study four key household variables: household size, number of children, number of spouses or partners and number of other members. Results reveal substantial internal heterogeneity, particularly in Africa and Asia, where subnational variation often rivals or exceeds national-level variation. In contrast, European countries show greater homogeneity,making national datamore representative. These findingsemphasise the importance of integrating subnational data into demographic research. Relying solely on nationallevel indicators risks masking meaningful demographic patterns and misrepresenting population dynamics. As traditional census data become increasingly scarce, fine-grained data are crucial for capturing the complexity of demographic variation within countries.

Early Childbearing of Immigrant Women and Their Descendants in Spain

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]We investigate early childbearing among Maghrebi and Latin American immigrant women and their descendants in Spain. We use a new database linking Natural Movement of the Population records between 2011 and 2015 to the 2011 Spanish Census. To identify whether immigrants’ descendants converge toward the Spanish very reduced profile of early childbearing, we run Poisson regression models. While Latin American immigrants converge toward the native population, among Maghrebi immigrants, the difference among those who arrived in Spain at more than 15 years of age is reduced, but the difference does not disappear in the second generation. To examine the differences in early childbearing between these two immigrant groups, we implement a multivariate decomposition. The mean number of children born between 2011 and 2015 was 0.12 for Latin American and 0.32 for Maghrebi immigrants. Differences in measured characteristics account for 39.72% of this difference and differences in effects account for 60.28%.

Transitions to Motherhood in a Low-Fertility Country: Timing, Type, and Order of Life Course Events

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]This study analyses the key transitions over the course of a woman’s life: forming a first union, leaving home, economic independence, and employment. It assesses their association with the probability of motherhood in Spain, a low-fertility country. The study focuses on the timing of these transitions and their particular conditions, as well as the order in which they occur. Data for the analysis are taken from the 2018 Fertility Survey (N = 7,819) conducted by the Spanish National Statistics Institute. We have applied event history models, specifically discrete-time logistic regression models. The study reveals varying relationships between life transitions and motherhood, emphasizing the relevance of both the order and specific characteristics of each transition. Forming a union is the main transition associated with motherhood, being moderated by the type of union, its stability, and by economic and employment circumstances. Leaving the parental home also shows a strong association with the likelihood of motherhood, although it also appears to be mediated by the woman’s economic, union, and employment status. Finally, access to employment favours motherhood, albeit to a lesser extent than the other life transitions.

The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic on residential mobility in major spanish cities: spatial and socioeconomic patterns

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about possible shifts in the determinants of residential mobility and the potential for a crisis in densely populated urban settings. Some studies have noted significant effects in the early months following the outbreak, though generally not intense enough to induce profound changes in residential systems. This research aims to explore aspects not yet addressed in the context of Spanish urban areas: (i) we focus on central municipalities, which were subject to speculation regarding a possible mass migration to rural areas; (ii) we extend the period of analysis until 2022, marking the third year since the pandemic’s onset; (iii) we incorporate a socioeconomic dimension, enabling us to examine changes in the profiles of individuals who changed residence after the pandemic; and (iv) we consider intra-city moves, a critical aspect for validating (or invalidating) the urban exodus hypothesis. By addressing these aspects, we outline the legacy and future implications of the pandemic in terms of residential mobility and its interplay with the socio-spatial reconfiguration of urban areas. After two years with some observable changes compared to the pre-pandemic period, by 2022, residential mobility patterns aligned with pre-pandemic tendencies in most dynamics. However, a significant change has been the reinforcement of movements away from urban cores among the most socioeconomically advantaged groups.[ES]El estallido de la pandemia de la COVID-19 suscitó interrogantes sobre posibles cambios en los determinantes de la movilidad residencial, al tiempo que se planteaba una crisis de los entornos urbanos más densos y poblados. Algunos trabajos han constatado efectos reseñables en los primeros meses de la pandemia, aunque en general no fueron lo suficientemente intensos como para provocar cambios profundos en los sistemas residenciales. Esta investigación se propone profundizar en aspectos que no han sido abordados todavía en el contexto de las ciudades españolas: (i) nos centramos en los municipios centrales, que fueron objeto de especulaciones sobre una posible migración masiva hacia áreas rurales; (ii) ampliamos el periodo de análisis hasta el año 2022, el tercer año desde el inicio de la pandemia; (iii) incorporamos la dimensión socioeconómica, lo que nos permite examinar los cambios en los perfiles de las personas que cambiaron de residencia; y (iv) consideramos los traslados dentro de las ciudades centrales, un aspecto crucial para validar, o no, la hipótesis del éxodo urbano. Al abordar estos aspectos, delineamos el legado y las implicaciones futuras de la pandemia en términos de movilidad residencial y su relación con los procesos de reconfiguración socio-espacial en áreas urbanas. Tras dos años con algunos cambios respecto a la pre-pandemia, en 2022, las pautas de movilidad residencial tendieron a converger con las observadas previamente en la mayor parte de las dinámicas. Sin embargo, un cambio reseñable ha sido el refuerzo de los movimientos de salida de las ciudades entre los grupos socioeconómicamente más aventajados.

Long goodbyes: pathways of leaving home by gender and destination in Spain

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

[ES]This article examines the pathways of leaving home in Spain by differentiating between moving out to live with a partner (marriage or cohabitation) and without one. We analyzed the relationship between these pathways, personal and family characteristics, and various life course events in both men and women. The analysis uses Spain’s 2018 Fertility Survey data, applying logistic regression, and competing risk models. The results revealed a major transformation in these pathways between generations, with women recording a greater diversity of situations. In general, there is a delay in leaving home among the younger generations and greater relevance of economic factors. Personal and family characteristics related to modern values are associated with new destinations, namely, cohabiting, and living without a partner, while the traditional pathway involving marriage has lost ground. Finally, life-course events are closely related to different destinations, representing the gendered professional career effect. Finding a job and building a career are positively associated with all kinds of departures among men; however, they are negatively associated with leaving home to marry among women

Same rights different outcomes? Decomposition of differences in over-qualification among mobile EU workers

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT

This study contributes to the debate on the determinants of over-qualification among European Union (EU) mobile workers. More specifically, we quantify the impact of observable compositional heterogeneity on the over-qualification gap between mobile workers from new EU member states (EU13) and those from old EU member states (EU15). Using data from the EU Labour Force Survey 2014 Ad Hoc Module, we first identify factors that may determine the likelihood of over-qualification among EU mobile workers through logistic regression models. Next, using a variant of the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique, we measure the effects of heterogeneity on human capital and differential distribution across European labour markets on the differences in over-qualification between these two groups of workers. Our results show that the differences in human capital explain an important aspect of the gap. However, the most important explanation for the disparities between both groups is the distribution of workers across countries clustered according to the type of labour market regulation. Our study reveals that despite the formal equality guaranteed by the EU law there are persistent inequalities in terms of educational–occupational adjustment that are largely (but not exclusively) due to structural and compositional factors.

La fecundidad completa de las inmigrantes latinoamericanas y sus descendientes en España

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT

[ES]Este estudio analiza la fecundidad de las inmigrantes latinoamericanas en España. Utilizamos una base de datos que vincula al censo de 2011 el Movimiento Natural de la Población desde 2011 hasta 2015, y aplicamos modelos de regresión de Poisson. Concluimos que mientras las inmigrantes latinoamericanas de primera generación tienen una fecundidad completa superior a las nativas, las inmigrantes de 1,5 y segunda generación tienen una fecundidad completa de en torno a un 10 % inferior.[EN]We analyze the fertility of Latin American immigrant women in Spain. We use a database that links the 2011 Census with the Natural Movement of the Population records from 2011 to 2015 and apply Poisson regression models. We conclude that while first-generation Latin American immigrants have a higher completed fertility than natives, 1.5 and second-generation immigrants have around 10 % lower completed fertility than natives

Beyond the healthy immigrant paradox: decomposing differences in birthweight among immigrants in Spain

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT

[EN] Background: The healthy immigrant paradox refers to the unexpected health advantages of immigrant groups settled in host countries. In this population-based study we analyze immigrant advantages in birthweight decomposing differences between infants born to immigrant mothers from specific origins. Method: Using publicly available data from Spanish Vital Statistics for the period 2007–2017, differential birthweights among several groups of immigrants were estimated with an ordinary least squares regression. The Oaxaca–Blinder regression-based decomposition method was then applied to identify the extent to which differences in birthweight between groups corresponded to compositional disparities or to other factors. Results: Our analysis of singleton live births to migrant mothers in Spain between 2007 and 2017 (N = 542,137) confirmed the healthy immigrant paradox for certain immigrant populations settled in Spain. Compared with infants born to mothers from high-income countries, the adjusted birthweight was higher for infants born to mothers from non-high- income European countries (33.2 g, 95% CI: 28.3–38.1, P < 0.01), mothers from African countries (52.2 g, 95% CI: 46.9–57.5, P < 0.01), and mothers from Latin American countries (57.4 g, 95% CI: 52.9–61.3, P < 0.01), but lower for infants born to mothers from Asian non-high-income countries (− 31.4 g, 95% CI: − 38.4 to − 24.3, P < 0.01). Decomposition analysis showed that when compared with infants born to mothers from highincome countries, compositional heterogeneity accounts for a substantial proportion of the difference in birthweights. For example, it accounts for 53.5% (95% CI: 24.0–29.7, P < 0.01) of the difference in birthweights for infants born to mothers from non-high-income European countries, 70.9% (95% CI: 60–66.7, P < 0.01) for those born to mothers from African countries, and 38.5% (95% CI: 26.1–29.3, P < 0.01) for those born to mothers from Latin American countries. Conclusions: Our results provide strong population-based evidence for the healthy immigrant paradox in birthweight among certain migrant groups in Spain. However, birth outcomes vary significantly depending on the origins of migrant subpopulations, meaning that not all immigrant groups are unexpectedly healthier. A significant portion of the perinatal health advantage of certain immigrant groups is only a by-product of their group composition (by age, parity, marital status, socioeconomic status, and citizenship of mother, age and migratory status of father and type of delivery) and does not necessarily correspond to other medical, environmental, or behavioral factors.

New member state workers in Western European labour markets. Are they civically stratified?

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT

[EN]This study applies the theory of civic stratification to analyse how the integration of EU-10 and EU-3 immigrants into the labour markets of six European countries – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – has evolved between 2005 and 2016. Special attention is paid to the effect of the moratoria on the free movement of workers, which lasted between 0 and 7 years. Data from the EU-LFS is used in two mixed effects logistic regression models for each country, using the following dependent variables: having employment and if that employment matches the qualifications of the worker. The interaction between nationality (own-country, EU-10, EU-3 and EU-15) and whether or not a moratoria exists is used to compare the level of labour integration of the EU-10 and EU-3 groups with that of national populations and EU-15 immigrants. Our results show that during the moratoria EU-10 and EU-3 immigrants have had a much lower labour market performance than people with full European citizenship. This gap has decreased drastically, without disappearing in many cases, after the moratoria ended.