In this article, we compare how racial inequalities are shaped by school-to-work transitions among bachelor’s degree (BA) holders in Brazil and the United States. Our findings reveal how distinct paths linking higher education and the job market can drive similar patterns of Black–White earnings gaps. While the distribution across fields of study matters more for racial earnings inequality in Brazil, differential returns to the same field and occupations are a stronger determinant in the United States. We also find that linked closure, that is, the exclusion of Black BA holders from occupations with high levels of linkage to the labor market, is the predominant mechanism in the United States, while a mix between linked closure and what we term unlinked closure, that is, the exclusion of Black BA holders from occupations that have weak linkages to fields of study, is more important in Brazil. By identifying variations in mechanisms leading to racial inequality, this article contributes to debates in comparative race relations and stratification.

在本文中，我们比较了巴西和美国学士学位 (BA) 持有者之间从学校到工作的转变如何塑造种族不平等。我们的研究结果揭示了连接高等教育和就业市场的不同路径如何推动类似黑白收入差距的模式。虽然跨研究领域的分布对巴西的种族收入不平等更为重要，但在美国，同一领域和职业的不同回报是一个更强大的决定因素。我们还发现，美国的主要机制是关联关闭，即将黑人 BA 持有者排除在与劳动力市场高度关联的职业之外，而关联关闭和我们所说的非关联关闭之间的混合，也就是说，将黑人 BA 持有者排除在与研究领域联系薄弱的职业之外，在巴西更为重要。通过识别导致种族不平等的机制变化，本文有助于比较种族关系和分层的辩论。