We have investigated the phenomenon of deprivation in contemporary Switzerland through the adoption of a multidimensional, dynamic approach. By applying Self Organizing Maps (SOM) to a set of 33 non-monetary indicators from the 2009 wave of the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), we identified 13 prototypical forms (or clusters) of well-being, financial vulnerability, psycho-physiological fragility and deprivation within a topological dimensional space. Then new data from the previous waves (2003 to 2008) were classified by the SOM model, making it possible to estimate the weight of the different clusters in time and reconstruct the dynamics of stability and mobility of individuals within the map. Looking at the transition probabilities between year t and year t+1, we observed that the paths of mobility which catalyze the largest number of observations are those connecting clusters that are adjacent on the topological space.

During the year 2011, Chile has been scenario of several student’s demonstrations claiming for more equity in the access to the higher education. The high support to the protests by the side of the general population (nearly 89% of approval in public opinion polls) seems to suggest the existence of a large consensus about the weaknesses of the Chilean educative model, a model that would challenge the traditional ideals of meritocracy and social mobility that are at the core of the educational systems in modern societies. In this context, a question that remains open is to what extent these claims are mostly based on consensual equality ideals, or whether they are influenced by individual socio-economic determinants vis-à-vis rational motives. Using data of the social inequality module International Social Survey Program (ISSP) of 2009, this research analyzes perceptions and beliefs about education and the distributive system as well as the influence of income and educational variables, through a structural equation modeling framework. Preliminary results indicate the presence of socioeconomic cleavages in relation to the fairness of the educational system, questioning the assumption about a normative consensus.

Given the rising skill demands in the labour market, early school leavers are a category at risk in European societies. Italy is one of the EU-28 countries where this phenomenon is most severe, since about one fifth of Italian young adults do not hold an upper-secondary degree. Despite the relevance of this topic for the equality of life chances, only a few works have investigated the causes and consequences of dropout from secondary schooling in the Italian context. Moreover, even if gender is a crucial dimension of inequality when considering the labour market opportunity structure, gender effects are usually accounted for, but not analysed specifically. By using ISFOL PLUS (waves 2005- 2011) and the “Early school leaving dynamics” (ESLD) survey conducted by ISFOL in 2011, we look directly at gender effects by studying if and to what extent boys more inclined to drop out from upper-secondary schooling than girls, and what are the labour market outcomes for boys and girls who did and did not drop out from high school. The main results of our analyses suggest the existence of different mechanisms for early school leaving for boys and girls, partially mediated by push and pull factors. We find that girls are less likely to drop out from secondary schooling even after accounting for previous scholastic performance, i.e. a key push factor. We argue that pull factors – and especially job-related motivations – may affect boys and girls differently due to differential labour market opportunities. The latter hypothesis is supported by the findings concerning the association between dropout and the area of residence of the pupils and the educational level of their parents. Finally, we analyse the current labour market.

This mainly theoretical article addresses the core idea and concepts within the capability approach and serves as an introduction to our conception of the approach for the readings of the other articles in this volume. The concepts will be presented briefly, and their interdependent relations will be explained with a strong emphasis on the capability for education and work. Due to some differences between the conceptual understanding of capabilities between Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen (Robeyns, J Hum Dev 6:93–114, 2005), we will also present our suggestion for an accessible model which combines the strengths of each conceptual perspective.