The Iron law of inequality: different paths, but same results? Some comparisons between Lithuania and Norway

ENTwo general hypotheses about education and social stratification in societies have been proposed in the literature. The first states that the impact educational attainment will be weaker in socialist state-systems, the second that education and social position will be stronger than in Western countries. On the studies it is hypothesized, however, that social mechanisms in both state systems educational policies, leaving the role of education basically the same. It is against that a comparative analysis of Lithuania and Norway is carried out. A recent survey in Lithuania gives for the first time an opportunity to carry out relevant comparisons with a Scandinavian country. Although this is not a strong test of the hypothesis of converging trends in the causes and effects of educational attainment, the findings with our expect.