The Caste-Class Association in India

PurposeThis study used data from the General Social Survey (2011) to examine the trends in intergenerational educational mobility in Canada for the 1940–1989 birth cohorts. To this end, the purpose of this study is to focus on the relationship between mothers' education and children's education.Design/methodology/approachThe study estimated intergenerational regression and correlation coefficients and several mobility indices, namely, the Prais–Shorrocks index, immobility index, upward mobility index and downward mobility index.FindingsThe study found considerable gender differences with respect to the trends in these coefficients and indices. The study found that, over the period of study, the correlation coefficient slightly increased for sons while it decreased for daughters. The Prais–Shorrocks index, immobility index, upward mobility index and downward mobility index show that educational mobility has increased for daughters while that of sons has decreased over time. Finally, the relative educational opportunities indicators also suggest a similar result that educational mobility has increased for the daughters while it fell for the sons.Originality/valueA number of studies used Canadian data to examine intergenerational educational mobility. However, no study particularly focused on the relationship between mothers' education and children's education. In recent years, women's labor force participation rate and employment rate increased significantly. Thus, it will be interesting to see how mothers' education is related to children's education in Canada.

Download Full-text

Sick leave absence and the relationship between intra-generational social mobility and mortality: health selection in Sweden

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-019-8103-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sunnee Billingsley

Keyword(s):

Sickness Absence ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Event History Analysis ◽

Upward Mobility ◽

Poor Health ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

Health Selection ◽

Average Marginal Effects ◽

The Relationship ◽

Related Mortality

Abstract Background Poor health could influence how individuals are sorted into occupational classes. Health selection has therefore been considered a potential modifier to the mortality class gradient through differences in social mobility. Direct health selection in particular may operate in the short-term as poor health may lead to reduced work hours or achievement, downward social mobility, unemployment or restricted upward mobility, and death. In this study, the relationship between social mobility and mortality (all-cause, cancer-related, cardiovascular disease-related (CVD), and suicide) is explored when the relationship is adjusted for poor health. Methods Using Swedish register data (1996–2012) and discrete time event-history analysis, odds ratios and average marginal effects (AME) of social mobility and unemployment on mortality are observed before and after accounting for sickness absence in the previous year. Results After adjusting for sickness absence, all-cause mortality remained lower for men after upward mobility in comparison to not being mobile (OR 0.82, AME -0.0003, CI − 0.0003 to − 0.0002). Similarly, upward mobility continued to be associated with lower cancer-related mortality for men (OR 0.85, AME -0.00008, CI − 0.00002 to − 0.0002), CVD-related mortality for men (OR 0.76, AME -0.0001, CI − 0.00006 to − 0.0002) and suicide for women (OR 0.67, AME -0.00002, CI − 0.000002 to − 0.00003). The relationship between unemployment and mortality also persisted across most causes of death for both men and women after controlling for previous sickness absence. In contrast, adjusting for sickness absence renders the relationship between downward mobility and cancer-related mortality not statistically different from the non-mobile. Conclusions Health selection plays a role in how downward mobility is linked to cancer related deaths. It additionally accounts for a portion of why upward mobility is associated with lower mortality. That health selection plays a role in how social mobility and mortality are related may be unexpected in a context with strong job protection. Job protection does not, however, equalize opportunities for upward mobility, which may be limited for those who have been ill. Because intra-generational upward mobility and mortality remained related after adjusting for sickness absence, other important mechanisms such as indirect selection or social causation should be explored.

Download Full-text

‘There’s a lot of it about’

The New Social Mobility ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447310662.003.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Geoff Payne

Keyword(s):

Personal Experience ◽

Upward Mobility ◽

Social Classes ◽

The Political ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

Academic Mobility

Academic mobility analysts, who until very recently have looked at national rates rather than at the personal experience and consequences of being mobile and immobile, have tended to emphasise the constraints on mobility. Politicians want more upward mobility, not the downward mobility this would also inevitably involve. Many proposals for policies to improve mobility rates following the political re-discovery of mobility still ultimately depend on individualistic explanations, but recent surveys have shown that around three quarters of British adults have been intergenerationally socially mobile (that is, when downward mobility is included) as conventionally measured across seven social classes. Whether these ‘classes’ are seen as a set of categories, or a system of inter-connected advantages and disadvantage, by definition there have to be ‘losers’ in the mobility race.

Download Full-text

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

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/ntaa103 ◽

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.

Download Full-text

Education and intergenerational social mobility in the US and four European countries

Oxford Review of Economic Policy ◽

10.1093/oxrep/grz013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 445-466 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard Breen

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Structural Change ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Upward Mobility ◽

Second World War ◽

Educational Expansion ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

The Us ◽

Social Fluidity ◽

Second World

Abstract I draw on the findings of a recently completed comparative research project to address the question: how did intergenerational social mobility change over cohorts of men and women born in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, and what role, if any, did education play in this? The countries studied are the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Notwithstanding the differences between them, by and large they present the same picture. Rates of upward mobility increased among cohorts born in the second quarter of the century and then declined among those born later. Among earlier born cohorts, social fluidity increased (that is, the association between the class a person was born into and the class he or she came to occupy as an adult declined) and then remained unchanged for those born after mid-century. The association between class origins and educational attainment followed much the same trend as social fluidity. This suggests that growing equalization in education may have contributed to the increase in social fluidity. In our analyses we find that this is so, but educational expansion also led to greater fluidity in some countries. There is also a strong link between upward mobility and social fluidity. Upward mobility was mostly driven by the expansion of higher-level white-collar jobs, especially in the 30 years after the end of the Second World War. This facilitated social fluidity because people from working class and farming origins could move into the service or salariat classes without reducing the rate at which children born into those classes could remain there. Educational expansion, educational equalization, and rapid structural change in the economies of the US and Europe all contributed to greater social fluidity among people born in the second quarter of the twentieth century. For people born after mid-century, rates of downward mobility have increased: however, despite the lack of further educational equalization and less pronounced structural change, social fluidity has remained unchanged.

Download Full-text

Catholicism and Working-Class Activism in Providence

10.5406/illinois/9780252039997.003.0003 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Evelyn Sterne

Keyword(s):

Working Class ◽

Upward Mobility ◽

Catholic Women ◽

Political Organizing ◽

Late Nineteenth ◽

New Americans ◽

Lay Societies ◽

The Church ◽

Over Time

This chapter maintains that Catholic parishes were the most accessible and important institutions in Providence's ethnic, working-class neighborhoods in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and that as such, they played critical roles in politicizing new Americans. It was at church that the largest proportion of immigrants congregated on a regular basis. Parishes functioned not only as sources of spiritual solace but also as dispensers of charity, promoters of upward mobility, and centers of neighborhood life. Priests initially promoted lay societies to foster congregational loyalties, but over time the groups also served as political organizing spaces for Catholic women and men. For many, the Church served as a place where new Americans organized for change.

Download Full-text

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

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.2424 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 28-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

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.

Download Full-text

Wealth and Income in New Zealand: c. 1870 to c. 1939

10.26686/wgtn.16949485 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Margaret Nell Galt

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New Zealand ◽

Gini Coefficient ◽

Upward Mobility ◽

The United States ◽

International Standards ◽

Major Influence ◽

Considerable Proportion ◽

The Gini Coefficient ◽

Over Time

<p>This thesis examines the level and distribution of wealth and income in New Zealand between about 1870 and 1939. To do so it draws upon the available aggregate statistics on wealth and income, and it uses a sample of wealth holders especially constructed to alleviate the data deficiencies which have arisen through New Zealand not having a wealth census. The evidence available suggests that New Zealand was correctly portrayed as having a high level of wealth with an egalitarian distribution. In 1893, the first year in which average wealth could be estimated, New Zealand was definitely wealthier than Victoria. This wealth was not evenly distributed but the gini coefficient of about 0.75 suggested that New Zealand was an egalitarian economy compared to the United States, Britain, or even Australia. Over the period to 1939 the average level of wealth increased by about 100 percent. Most of this increase took place between 1900 and 1922; the late 1920's and 1930's were periods of slow growth. But this increase was not sufficient to maintain New Zealand's high position relative to Australia, and probably to other countries. The growth of real wealth was accompanied by a redistribution of wealth and by the 1930's, the gini coefficient was only about 0.73. Most of this decline was due to the declining assets held by the very rich. In 1890 to 1895 the top one percent of wealth holders owned 55 - 60 percent of all assets, but by 1935 to 1939 this had fallen to 25 - 30 percent. The very rich had, in fact, never been rich by international standards. The case studies in the thesis did not include one millionaire. As a rule they were first generation wealthy men who came from a well-to-do background, who had superior education, but who had to achieve being wealthy through their own efforts. There were few women among the top wealth holders, and those who did appear inherited their wealth from their father or or husband. The wealthy did not show signs of being a closed elite. There was a considerable amount of upward mobility in the group, and the Scots especially tended to come from poor backgrounds. The practise of equal inheritance among all the children meant that few families remained very wealthy for more than one generation. The same social and occupational mobility was clear among our sample of estate holders. Only 50 percent of sons had the same social status as their fathers. The remaining sons were fairly evenly divided between those who rose and those who fell in status. The sample, which was constructed from probate valuations and death certificate records, suggests some of the factors which assisted and hindered upward mobility. Being born female at a time when women did not pursue careers, or own family property obviously influenced the wealth holdings of a considerable proportion of the population. For men, the place of their birth proved to be significant. The Scottish showed a marked tendency to be upwardly mobile, while being Irish or New Zealand born was a definite handicap. Those who were born overseas did better if they arrived as young adults between 1860 and 1880. Assisted migrants produced proportionately less probatable estates, but those who did had about the same estates as those not assisted. Wealth was concentrated among those involved in farming, trading and the professions throughout most of our period, but over time agricultural wealth showed signs of being replaced by industrial fortunes. The professions had the advantage of a comparatively high income which enabled people to accumulate fortunes. Lifetime income undoubtedly had the major influence on wealth at death. The level of average income increased probably three-fold in the period. Again most of this rise came between 1900 and 1920. It is probable that the distribution also became more equal, through the reduced incomes to the top earners. There was a strong trend for margins for skill to decline over time, even though they were already small relative to those found in the United States. The exception to this was teachers' salaries, which showed a marked rise as the occupation became more professional. The rise of teachers' wages, shop work and clerical jobs all changed the employment structure for women, which was reflected in a changed attitude towards higher education. The 1930's saw a reduction in incomes largely through unemployment and short-time. However, the reduction was heaviest among those in the top 10 percent. The depression had mixed effects on production levels, prices and wages, but only one of our three sample industries, butter and cheese making, showed strong evidence of wage overhang. In 1939 New Zealand was still a wealthy nation, though probably she would not have ranked as highly on an international scale as in 1890. The distribution of both wealth and income had changed over our period to being substantially more egalitarian.</p>

Download Full-text

Caste Formation in India.

International Research Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.46378/irjst.2020.020104 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 323-326

Author(s):

Sajitha D V ◽

Ajith Kumar M P

Keyword(s):

Structural Feature ◽

Division Of Labor ◽

Political Party ◽

Caste System ◽

Indian Society ◽

Caste Politics ◽

Lower Castes ◽

Over Time ◽

Social Reformers

The purpose of this study is to look at how caste formation, a structural feature of Indian society and the changes that have taken place in caste formations over time, are used by caste in today’s society. The structure of Indian society is based on the caste system. But the caste system was only a product of the upper caste Brahmins of India. In fact, the upper castes enslaved the lower castes only for economic purposes. For that, they used caste as the first extreme. According to historians, the caste system in India was only part of a division of labor and was never caste-based. Because there is no mention in Manusmriti, Bhagavat Gita, Vedic and Later-Vedic literatues about a caste society that separates man from man on the basis of caste. That is why our social reformers proclaimed that caste evils should be eradicated from the society and they worked hard for it and succeeded to some extent. Thus, Independent India was able to build a casteless society as a result of the work of social reformers. But after independence we were able to see a caste politics. What we see today is that every political party is using caste as a tool for their vote bank during elections to consolidate their power. Therefore, caste politics is one of the major challenges facing India.

Download Full-text

Person–Environment Fit Approach to Trajectories of Cognitive Function Among Older Adults Who Live Alone: Intersection of Life-Course SES Disadvantage and Senior Housing

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbz025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 74 (6) ◽

pp. e1-e12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sojung Park ◽

Eunsun Kwon ◽

BoRin Kim ◽

Yoonsun Han

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Function ◽

Life Course ◽

Life Stages ◽

Downward Mobility ◽

Positive Role ◽

Senior Housing ◽

Multilevel Growth Modeling ◽

Residency Status ◽

Over Time

Abstract Objectives Drawing from life course and environmental perspectives, we examined the trajectory of cognitive function and how senior housing moderates the effects of life-course socioeconomic status (SES) disadvantage among older people living alone over time. Method Six waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were used with multilevel growth modeling to analyze developmental patterns of cognitive function over time and how various forms of life-course SES disadvantage affect cognitive function depending on senior housing residency status. Results At baseline, we found a positive role of senior housing in four subgroups: SES disadvantage in childhood only, unstable mobility pattern (disadvantage in childhood and old age only), downward mobility (no disadvantage in childhood, but in later two life stages), and cumulative disadvantage (all three life stages). Over time, the positive role of senior housing for the unstable and the most vulnerable group persisted. Discussion Our findings provide a much-needed practical and theoretical underpinning for environmental policy-making efforts regarding vulnerable elders who live alone.

Download Full-text