The reduction of social inequalities through education is widely believed to be possible. In the past decade however, social scientists have increasingly questioned the posited conventional relationship between education and socio-economic equality. Factors other than the number of years and/or the quality of schooling have to be considered in explaining income levels, for example, labor market discrimination based on ethnic origin or sex. A review of three empirical studies was conducted focusing on: (1) the factors explaining income levels of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese communities in the United States; (2) the educational attitudes and work/income opportunity perceptions of young Filipino Americans; and discrimination in the nursing labor market. With respect to the first study, school appears to be a highly significant explanatory variable for the incomes of Chinese, but not for either Filipinos or Japanese. The second study shows the effect of attitudinal factors, such as the consumption view of education prevalent in the Philippines, on the motivation to obtain higher education. Based on resumes sent in response to advertised job openings, the third study concludes that racial discrimination exists in the middle management market for nurses, and that the disadvantage of a non-Anglo name is more significant for those born here in the United States. (RLV)