Research
Meritocracy's foundational premise is empirically undermined: socioeconomic status strongly predicts educational and economic outcomes across national contexts, SAT scores correlate significantly with parental income, and the racial wealth gap in the US remains nearly tenfold between white and Black families — evidence that what the system rewards as "merit" largely reflects inherited advantage. The central unresolved tension is whether this represents a fixable implementation failure or a structural feature, with critical scholars arguing meritocracy's own logic is self-defeating (explicitly labeling workplaces as meritocratic measurably *increases* bias in bonus allocation), while market-oriented defenders maintain that the solution is more genuine competition, not redistribution. A further paradox complicates both sides: belief in meritocracy strengthens as actual mobility declines, and that belief simultaneously provides psychological benefits to disadvantaged groups while suppressing their support for collective remedies — meaning the ideology may be most durable precisely where it is least warranted.
Meritocracy is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, ...
The current work aims to present a systematic review of the research that tested the influence of meritocracy beliefs on psychological and behavioral outcomes ...
The debate between DEI and MEI reflects fundamentally different visions of how society should function. While MEI offers a compelling vision of ...
Together, these studies show that the belief that schools are meritocratic carries consequences beyond the school context as it is associated with attitudes ...
We study how meritocratic beliefs about success relate to individuals' social mobility experiences: Is subjective upward mobility associated ...
In this book Jo Littler argues that meritocracy is the key cultural means of legitimation for contemporary neoliberal culture – and that ...
The results indicate that educational expansion over time, and the policies supporting it, are linked to improved intergenerational occupational mobility.
Daniel Markovits argues that rather than democratizing American society, meritocracy has contributed to increasing inequality and the decline of the middle ...
Inherited wealth is threatening meritocracy and the future of capitalism. Learn why it's time to rethink privilege and build a more purpose-driven economy.
Meritocracy means that selection is based on capability and competence rather than unfair criteria such as wealth, prejudice or arbitrariness.
Free enterprise is about more than just open markets; it's about unleashing the potential of individuals and businesses to innovate and grow.
This paper critiques meritocracy's foundational assumptions, arguing that its focus on ranking individuals according to flawed metrics fosters unhealthy ...
This study investigates the relationship between perceptions of economic inequality, meritocratic beliefs, and market justice preferences in Chile between 2016 ...
Social mobility is proxied by 1 minus the intergenerational earnings elasticity of fathers with sons and income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient ...
... systemic barriers they may face. This can have devastating psychological and social consequences, leading to feelings of inadequacy, shame ...
It explores the factors that contribute to the gatekeeping process and provides a historical context that led to the evolution of today's admission protocol. It ...
We've been telling students that doing well in school creates opportunities—that showing up, doing the work, and meeting teachers' expectations ...
These movements indicate a society where class determines and consequently divides those who feel heard and those who feel invisible, and unless ...
What began as a principle that seemed to offer an alternative to inequality has become instead a justification for inequality, argues Michael Sandel.
Since the distribution of both talent and effort is “arbitrary from a moral point of view,” those who possess them in greater amounts have no moral claim to the ...
The heritability of general cognitive ability increases significantly and linearly from 41% in childhood (9 years) to 55% in adolescence (12 years) and to 66% ...
Presidential Actions Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy Executive Orders April 23, 2025
These boards enforce occupational licensing laws and often can create their own rules. They can penalize existing license holders and reject new workers from ...
A revolutionary new argument from eminent Yale Law professor Daniel Markovits attacking the false promise of meritocracy.
This article argues that not only does high-stakes, standardized testing serve to further racial inequality in education, it does so under the guise of forms ...
Networking or nepotism: How young people balance social capital and meritocratic logics in the job search. Laura Adler and Elena Ayala-Hurtado
This study examines whether recent ECE reforms may have promoted an economic meritocratic mindset that favors skills linked to individual competition for ...
The Meritocracy-based approach centers on the belief that the best candidates should be hired or promoted based solely on their skills, qualifications, and ...
How organizations that emphasize meritocracy can inadvertently create more bias.
Eunji Kim's book, “The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy” · 1. The political science consensus · 2. Upward mobility ...
Specifically, informed by the extant research on minoritized women in STEM fields, we suggest that strong beliefs in meritocracy may be more prominent among ...
Piketty calls the ideology of the Brahmin Left distinctively “meritocratic,” founded on the idea that higher education determines social worth.
This article analyzes the impact of local inequality on citizens' belief in a core facet of the American ethos—meritocracy. We advance conditional effects ...
In addition, the fact that intergenerational transfer of wealth is lightly taxed means that historical gaps persist over generations.
One of the most prevalent defenses against claims of gender bias and sexism in the tech industry is that Silicon Valley is a meritocracy, where ...
Contrary to the equalization thesis, we find that parental education and parental income are associated with substantially higher post-college incomes. An ...
The "meritocracy myth" refers to the belief that societal success is solely based on individual merit, such as talent, intelligence, and hard work.
Other studies have examined within-job wage disparities, whereby women and minorities receive lower salaries than their white male coun- terparts within a given ...
Conservative economist says singular focus on deregulation, unfettered trade failed to deliver for American households.
The meritorious libertarian Trevor Burrus has unfortunately joined the ranks of libertarians against merit: Libertarians are often accused ...
State funding rarely equalizes disparities. In fact, only 18 states provide at least 10% more funding to high-poverty districts than low-poverty ...
Meritocracy claims to reward effort, but often reinforces privilege. True opportunity demands equal starts. As inequality grows, the myth ...
We found a positive relationship between the belief in meritocracy and well-being (self-esteem and physical health) that was mediated by perceived control.
American meritocracy and the education system. Scholastic Aptitude Test, an earnest effort by Ivy colleges and psychometricians to level the ...
Bourdieu and Passeron. (1990) argued that education reproduces cultural capital unevenly, thereby ensuring that privilege is transmitted across generations.
Socioeconomic status (SES) and SAT scores are positively correlated: Students from higher income backgrounds generally achieve higher scores ...
The myth of meritocracy is not merely self-deluding, Michael Sandel argues in his new book, but it also fuels our divisiveness.
An overview of different types of economic mobility in play across the U.S. economy and policy solutions to increase upward mobility.
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