Cutting Through

Uneven Odds ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 171-206
Author(s):  
Divya Vaid
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
National Level ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Class Mobility ◽  
Specific Occupation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

This chapter brings out the influence of caste on social class mobility and analyses in detail the association between caste and social class in India. While theories of social change posit a decline in the impact of caste on social mobility over time, this chapter questions whether we see evidence of this at the national level. More crucially has the association between caste and class declined? And, has the relative importance of caste on achieveing a specific occupation, and hence social mobility, also declined overtime? In light of debates on affirmative action, this chapter asks whether certain castes find it harder to take advantage of upward class mobility chances, and conversely whether some castes are cushioned from downward mobility chances.

Trends in Intergenerational Class Mobility in Modern Britain: Evidence From National Surveys, 1972—2005

2008 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Goldthorpe ◽  
Colin Mills
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Class Mobility ◽  
Modern Britain ◽  
Social Fluidity ◽  
Prevailing View ◽  
Representative Samples ◽  
Over Time

We present analyses of intergenerational social class mobility based on data from representative samples of the British population from 1972 to 2005. We distinguish throughout between absolute and relative rates of mobility. As regards absolute rates, we find little or no change in total mobility rates over the period covered. In the case of men, there is also little change in rates of upward and downward mobility — in contrast with the middle decades of the twentieth century when upward mobility steadily increased while downward mobility fell. This latter pattern does, however, prevail in the case of women. As regards relative rates, we again find, for men and women alike, an essential constancy over time. This, then, indicates that such changes as are apparent in absolute rates derive from shifts in class distributions rather than from any significant increase or decrease in social fluidity. Our results are contrary to the prevailing view in political and media circles that in Britain today the level of social mobility is in decline, although for men the pattern of mobility has become less favourable. We end with some remarks on policy implications.

Uneven Odds

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Vaid
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Scale ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Anthropological Literature ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Focussing on patterns of intergenerational stability, this book traces the unequal structures of opportunity in India. The author addresses questions and approaches towards social mobility (or the lack thereof) through interactions between social class, caste, and gender while adopting a rural–urban perspective, capturing changes over time, and the implications of social mobility on a national scale. This book plugs in crucial gaps in the research on social mobility, which has been marked by the lack of precision regarding the extent of mobility in contemporary India. Using a broad lens of both caste and class, this up-to-date statistical analysis, which uses national-level datasets and advanced quantitative methods, enriches the sociological as well as the anthropological literature, while also locating India within the larger context of social mobility research in the industrialized and industrializing world.

scholarly journals Social Class Origin and Assortative Mating in Britain, 1949–2010

Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1217-1236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Henz ◽  
Colin Mills
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Class Mobility ◽  
The Social ◽  
Class Origin ◽  
To Come ◽  
Similar Class ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Level Aspect ◽  
Over Time

This article examines trends in assortative mating in Britain over the last 60 years. Assortative mating is the tendency for like to form a conjugal partnership with like. Our focus is on the association between the social class origins of the partners. The propensity towards assortative mating is taken as an index of the openness of society which we regard as a macro level aspect of social inequality. There is some evidence that the propensity for partners to come from similar class backgrounds declined during the 1960s. Thereafter, there was a period of 40 years of remarkable stability during which the propensity towards assortative mating fluctuated trendlessly within quite narrow limits. This picture of stability over time in social openness parallels the well-established facts about intergenerational social class mobility in Britain.

Party Change and Adaptation in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cyr ◽  
Nicolás Liendo
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
National Level ◽  
Party Change ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Empirical Measures ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Political parties are not what they used to be. They evolve, often in response to external motivations, but also as a function of the historical time period in which they emerge. There are several determinants of party change and adaptation in Latin America. Most importantly, multiple exogenous forces, including a shift in the economic model, the adoption of decentralization policies, and the growing political voice of minoritized groups, have challenged parties to adapt for survival. While not all parties have successfully endured, some have employed diverse strategies to do so. To be sure, new parties also emerge as a function of exogenous challenges and opportunities. In Latin America, new parties have differed in form and in function from their predecessors. The emergence of new parties represents a second type of party change that must be contemplated. Overall, parties in the 21st century look quite different from their 20th-century counterpoints. Additionally, empirical measures suggest that the dynamics of party change vary across the region and also within countries across time. A novel concept, party survival, has been elaborated to address adaptation strategies that neither lead to continued electoral success at the national level nor end in full party collapse. Indeed, several countries in the region have faced at least one crisis of representation, wherein voters defected from existing parties to vote for new parties and politicians. A new research agenda, which examines the role of resources in provoking successful party emergence and adaptation over time, provides one fruitful explanation for why parties can survive a sudden and dramatic loss of national votes. Overall, knowledge of party change and adaptation has accumulated over time. It has also evolved with respect to nuance and sophistication. Still, there is much left to be learned about party change and adaptation, including the impact new parties will have on representation, governance, and democracy more generally.

Class Status and Social Mobility on Tobacco Smoking in Post-Reform China Between 1991 and 2011

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2188-2195
Author(s):  
Xiaozhao Yousef Yang
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Tobacco Smoking ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Social Gradient ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Class Weight ◽  
Class Status

Abstract Introduction There is growing attention to social mobility’s impact on tobacco use, but few studies have differentiated the two conceptually distinct mechanisms through which changes in social class can affect tobacco smoking: the class status effect and the mobility effect. Aims and Methods I applied Diagonal Reference Modeling to smoking and heavy smoking among respondents of the 1991 China Health and Nutrition Survey who were revisited two decades later in 2011 (n = 3841, 49% male, baseline mean age was 38 years). I divided the sample into six social classes (non-employment, self-employed, owners, workers, farmers, and retirees) and measured social mobility by changes in income and occupational prestige. Results About 61.7% of men were smokers and those from the classes of workers, owners, and self-employees consumed more cigarettes compared to the unemployed, but women smokers (3.7%) tend to be from the lower classes (unemployed and farmers). Controlling for social class, each 1000 Yuan increase in annual income led to smoking 0.03 more cigarettes (p < .05) and 1% increase (p < .05) in the likelihood of heavy smoking among men, but the income effect is null for women. Upwardly mobile men (a 10-points surge in occupational prestige) smoked like their destination class (weight = 78%), whereas men with downward mobility were more similar to peers in the original class (weight = 60%). Conclusions Contrary to the social gradient in smoking in other industrial countries, higher class status and upward mobility are each associated with more smoking among Chinese men, but not among women. Implications Tobacco control policies should prioritize male smoking at workplaces and the instrumental purposes of using tobacco as gifts and social lubricant. Taxation may counter the surge in smoking brought by individuals’ income increase after upward mobility. Caution should be paid to women joining the similar social gradient in smoking as they gain foothold in the labor market.

scholarly journals Is Social Mobility Really Declining? Intergenerational Class Mobility in Britain in the 1990s and the 2000s

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaojun Li ◽  
Fiona Devine
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Class Mobility ◽  
Time Period ◽  
General Household Survey

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on social mobility in contemporary Britain among economists and sociologists. Using the 1991 British Household Panel Survey and the 2005 General Household Survey, we focus on the mobility trajectories of male and female respondents aged 25-59. In terms of absolute mobility, we find somewhat unfavourable trends in upward mobility for men although long-term mobility from the working class into salariat positions is still in evidence. An increase in downward mobility is clearly evident. In relation to women, we find favourable trends in upward mobility and unchanging downward mobility over the fourteen-year time period. With regard to relative mobility, we find signs of greater fluidity in the overall pattern and declining advantages of the higher salariat origin for both men and women. We consider these findings in relation to the public debate on social mobility and the academic response and we note the different preoccupations of participants in the debate. We conclude by suggesting that the interdisciplinary debate between economists and sociologists has been fruitful although a recognition of similarities, and not simply differences in position, pushes knowledge and understanding forward.

scholarly journals The social patterning of mortality in a cohort of elderly Swedes

1996 ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olle Lundberg ◽  
Ingemar Kåreholt
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Retirement Age ◽  
Functional Abilities ◽  
Proportional Hazard ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Death Registry ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Social class differences in mortality among the elderly have received only limited interest. In this paper we analyze the impact of social class on mortality from mid-life onwards. In 1968 1,860 persons born between 1892 and 1915 were interviewed and followed in the national cause of death registry for the period 1968-1991. In addition. 537 of the 563 survivors were fe-interviewed in 1992. We employ proportional hazard regressions to analyze the impact of social class on death risks over time. There are fairly small class differences in the probability of reaching old age. However, it appears that mortality differentials were steeper before retirement age than after. Still, the size of class differences in mortality seem smaller than expected on the basis of other studies. At the same time steep class gradients in illness and functional abilities exist among survivors. Some possible explanations for these somewhat contradictory findings are discussed.

scholarly journals A systematic review and meta-analysis of tenderness metrics in control groups used in comparative nutrition experiments1,2

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-276
Author(s):  
M. J. Powell ◽  
C. Yuan ◽  
R. S. Dzikamunhenga ◽  
R. Tarté ◽  
E. Huff-Lonergan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Force ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
National Level ◽  
Pork Quality ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Nutritional Interventions ◽  
Change In The Mean ◽  
Review Reports ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This review reports the pork quality attributes, Warner-Bratzler Shear Force, Slice Shear Force, Star Probe, pH, marbling, color (Minolta L*/L or Hunter L*/L), and sensory tenderness evaluation, in control groups used in comparative nutrition experiments over the past 20 yr. The original aim of this study was to evaluate if changes in pork quality based on the above metrics occurred over time. To address this question, it was anticipated that data may come from 3 sources with decreasing relevance: representative retail pork surveys, representative post-harvest carcass surveys, and control groups from comparative nutrition experiments. To identify the study population, a review of studies reported in Centre for Agricultural Biosciences International Abstracts (Web of Knowledge; 1994–2014) was conducted. Two national level surveys of retail pork and 146 relevant nutritional experiments studies, with 228 control groups, were identified by the search. It was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis of the retail pork surveys based on only 2 time points. For the comparative studies, a random effects meta-analysis was conducted with year as a covariate to assess the impact of time on the outcome. In the absence of modifiers, there was no evidence of meaningful change in the mean Warner-Bratzler Shear Force, pH, color, marbling, or sensory scores over the study period. There was evidence of substantial between-study heterogeneity in the characteristics of control pigs used over the years for Warner-Bratzler Shear Force and measures of color. The absence of publicly-available representative surveys of pork quality meant the changes in pork quality over time were not clear. If changes in pork quality have occurred, the data suggest that pigs used as controls in experiments may have become less representative of commercial pigs over time and the translatability of study findings from nutrition experiments might be reduced over time. Alternately, if commercial pigs have not changed, then control pigs reflect this. The study does not address if control groups in other experimental intervention studies had similar tenderness patterns as reported here for nutritional interventions. A large amount of potentially available data was excluded from the analysis due to incomplete reporting in the original study reports.

scholarly journals Intragenerational Social Mobility and Wellbeing in Great Britain. A Biomarker Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Präg ◽  
Nina-Sophie Fritsch ◽  
Lindsay Richards
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Occupational Class ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Null Results ◽  
Class Mobility ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Outright Rejection ◽  
The Uk

Social theory has long predicted that social mobility, in particular downward social mobility, is detrimental to the wellbeing of individuals. Dissociative and ‘falling from grace’ theories suggest that mobility is stressful due to the weakening of social ties, feelings of alienation, and loss of status. In light of these theories, it is a puzzle that the majority of quantitative studies in this area have shown null results. Our approach to resolve the puzzle is twofold. First, we argue for a broader conception of the mobility process than is often used and thus focus on intragenerational occupational class mobility rather than restricting ourselves to the more commonly studied intergenerational mobility. Second, we argue that self-reported measures may be biased by habituation (or ‘entrenched deprivation’). Using nurse-collected health and biomarker data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS, 2010–12, N = 4,123), we derive a measure of allostatic load as an objective gauge of physiological ‘wear and tear,’ and compare patterns of mobility effects with self-reports of health using diagonal reference models. Our findings indicate a strong class gradient in both allostatic load and self-rated health, and that both first and current job matter for current wellbeing outcomes. However, in terms of the effects of mobility itself, we find that intragenerational social mobility is consequential for allostatic load, but not for self-rated health. Downward mobility is detrimental and upward mobility beneficial for wellbeing as assessed by allostatic load. Thus, these findings do not support the idea of generalized stress from dissociation, but they do support the ‘falling from grace’ hypothesis of negative downward mobility effects. Our findings have a further implication, namely that the differences in mobility effects between the objective and subjective outcome infer the presence of entrenched deprivation. Null results in studies of self-rated outcomes may therefore be a methodological artifact, rather than an outright rejection of decades-old social theory.

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