Adult education influences how labor market opportunities are structured in the later life course. We propose a theoretical framework for understanding the stratifying role of adult education resting on the distinction between two forms of adult education—upgrading and sidestepping: Resources, incentives, and selection processes systematically structure rates of participation. Using educational history data from Russia, we test hypotheses derived from our framework and examine the impact of the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic recovery. Upgrading exacerbates patterns of socioeconomic stratification by delivering better credentials to individuals with higher levels of initial resources. Sidestepping is less common than upgrading and less related to socioeconomic origins and previous attainment. The Soviet collapse produced short-term declines in the rates of both upgrading and sidestepping. However, once growth resumed, market institutions proved durable, and the political regime stabilized, rates of upgrading soared to levels exceeding those of the Soviet era.

中文翻译：

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成人教育，分层与政权更迭：1965年至2005年在俄罗斯的升级与回避

成人教育会影响以后生活中劳动力市场机会的结构。我们提出了一个理论框架，以理解成人教育的分层作用为基础，这取决于两种形式的成人教育的升级和回避：资源，激励机制和选择过程，系统地构成了参与率。使用来自俄罗斯的教育历史数据，我们检验了从我们的框架得出的假设，并检验了苏联解体和随之而来的经济复苏的影响。通过向具有较高初始资源水平的个人提供更好的凭据，升级会加剧社会经济分层的模式。回避比升级少见，与社会经济渊源和先前的成就关系不大。苏维埃垮台导致升级和回避率短期下降。但是，一旦恢复增长，市场机构将证明是持久的，政治体制也会稳定下来，升级率飙升至超过苏联时代的水平。