Inter-college stratificiation: The case of male college graduates in Japan

This paper explores the extent to which career stratification of male college graduates is determined by their university affiliation. It argues that the popular rankings of universities may reflect specific employment practices that systematically privilege the graduates of certain universities over those of others. Such practices include the restrictive recruitment of new graduates and stratified career lines for the college-educated, white-collar workers within the employing organizations. This study divides colleges into two groups, based on the chances for initial placement in the higher managerial career track. Using data from a 1975 national survey of Japanese men, it investigates the variations in income attainment, positional achievement, and relevant attitudinal characteristics of the two groups of college graduates. The results tend to support the stratification thesis, although the differences between the two groups are less dramatic than popular perceptions would lead us to believe.