Social Mobility

Calling for a broader, new approach to social mobility research, Daniel Bertaux and Paul Thompson here move beyond pure statistics to use qualitative techniques - such as life stories and family case studies - to examine more closely the dynamics of mobility and address more fundamental sociological questions. Up to now, the extensive sociological literature on mobility has been based around the survey method. As a result, we have access to abundant statistical data, but there is little information available to explain how and why people follow particular life paths. To overcome these limitations, the authors have developed an alternative, complementary approach using life stories, case histories of whole families over several generations, or case studies of local communities. Employing the case-study approach does not prevent the identification of structural trends; on the contrary, it allows us to analyse those collective processes through their local effects, restoring the links with the classics of sociological thought. The authors, together with a group of researchers who have worked closely with them, tackle problems such as: - What exactly is transmitted between generations: is it wealth or land, occupational models or skills, social networks, or values and orientations? - What kind of assets can immigrants draw on? - How can a social elite survive the upheaval of a popular revolution? - What is the impact of marriage on the mobility of men and women? - How far can belonging to one locality rather than another, or choosing a particular house, shape mobility paths and aspirations? - Do dreams of mobility matter?

Many of the countries that have recently converted to a market-based economic system have also experienced an alarming increase in income inequality -- a widening gap between the haves and have nots. But to what extent is the increase in inequality also increasing the opportunities for economic advancement -- particularly for those at the bottom of the economic ladder? Does the creation of greater opportunities make a region's move to the market politically acceptable? And, if opportunities don't increase along with inequality, will it eventually cause a political backlash against a country's market policies? This book highlights the importance of finding the answers to those questions by examining the issues of social mobility and opportunity as an essential part of the income inequality puzzle. It provides a summary of the latest research on the economics and politics of social mobility in both developed and emerging market economies, including the conceptual issues involved and the challenges of accurately documenting trends. The book concludes with a discussion of the economics of opportunity and mobility in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and the politics and perceptions of mobility in the two regions.

This study of social mobility within the developing class structures of modern industrial societies is based on a unique data-set constructed by the authors. It focuses on the Western and Eastern European experience of social and economic growth after the Second World War, but also examines the experiences of the United States, Australia, and Japan. In combining historical and statistical analyses of both trends in mobility and of cross-national similarities and differences, the authors show that wide variation at the level of observed mobility coexists with a surprising degree of constancy and commonality in underlying patterns of social fluidity.

This textbook provides a lively and penetrating exploration of the concept of class and its relevance for understanding a wide range of issues in contemporary society. The book presents a sophisticated account of the theoretical foundations in an accessible and engaging manner. It then explores class using cross-national comparative data on topics such as social mobility, housework, friendship patterns, class structure and class consciousness. This Student Edition of Class Counts thus combines Wright's sophisticated account of central and enduring questions in social theory with practical analyses of detailed social problems.

In the eighteenth century the considerable degree of social mobility in British society, especially between the upper and middling ranks, was arguably one of the important factors contributing to political and social stability. The extent of that mobility among the members of the nation's legislature was particularly important in this regard. In the first detailed analysis of its kind, Ian R. Christie examines how far the House of Commons reflected and was itself affected by such social mobility. Enquiry is directed at the growth in number of `non-elite' members of parliament; men without land. This is a fascinating study which every historian of 18th-century Britain will want to read.