First Published in 1996. Volume 7 SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL MOBILITY of the ‘American Cities; series. This collection brings together more than 200 scholarly articles pertaining to the history and development of urban life in the United States during the past two centuries. Volume 7 looks at social class structure and social mobility. Its articles address questions that have intrigued historians for decades. What has been the class structure of American cities during the past two centuries? How much mobility has been possible? For whom has it been possible? What has been the relationship between social and geographic mobility? Finally, how have all kinds of Americans tried to improve their social status?
The foundation of this volume is the notion that the several processes of change constituting economic and social development are systematically interrelated. The essence of development is the appearance of rapid rates of increases in many different indices--output per capita, political participation, literacy and the like. These quantitative changes are, however, commonly accompanied by vast changes in the social structure--markets emerge, political bureaucracies arise, and new educational systems appear. Written by the leading authorities on the subject, this group of papers tackles the causes and consequences of social mobility. Each author brings his particular skills to bear on various aspects of the problem in studies of persons moving from rural to urban settings, from one kind of industry to another and from one prestige level to another. Several of the papers review the theoretical and methodological issues involved in comparative research on social mobility while others compare and contrast traditional and modern stratification systems. Various papers explore the economic, religious and psychological basis of social mobility, concluding with enquiry into the consequences of rapid mobility, especially in terms of the political stability of developing nations. Because social mobility is a central consideration in any study of economic and social change, every student of change will use this pioneering reference source as a text for all future research. Contributors include Otis Dudley Duncan, Harold L. Wilensky, Michael G. Smith, Bert F. Hoselitz, Wilbert E. Moore, Natalie Rogoff Rams°y, Gideon Sjoberg, Reinhard Bendix, Harry Crockett, David Matza, Lester Seligman, and Gino Germani. Neil J. Smelser is emeritus professor, Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. Seymour Martin Lipset was professor of sociology and director of the Institute of International Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
Based on a novel class scheme and a unique compilation of German and American data, this book reveals that intergenerational class mobility increased over most of the past century. While country differences in intergenerational mobility are surprisingly small, gender, regional, racial and ethnic differences were initially large but declined over time. At the end of the 20th century, however, mobility prospects turned to the worse in both countries. In light of these findings, the book develops a narrative account of historical socio-political developments that are likely to have driven the basic resemblances across countries but also account for the initial decline and the more recent increase in intergenerational inequality.
This text examines the structure of stratification in the United States, focusing on the way one's class location influences his or her life opportunities. Beeghley uses three themes to illustrate social stratification: How power influences the distribution of resources in the United States; how social structure influences rates of events; and how social psychological factors influence how individuals act on, and react to, the situations in which they find themselves.
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility continues its tradition of publishing the best and most innovative research on the changing landscape of social inequality the world over. This issue focuses on different dimensions of social closure and their relationship to social inequality processes, including the changing role that education plays in sorting people into favorable and unfavorable labor market positions across a global diversity of cultural settings. This issue also examines the fluid boundaries of race and ethnicity in contentious political settings, relationships between attitudes and collective action, and the role that technology and political context plays in promoting economic development and well-being. These topics and the research methodologies they represent display the vitality of social science research dealing with social stratification and the wide array of methods, contexts, and policies that directly affect the life chances of most of the world's peoples. This issue also marks a continuation of the ties developed between RSSM and the Social Stratification and Mobility section of the International Sociological Association (RC-28). This collaboration promises to promote and disseminate social inequality research throughout the world through an established network of distinguished international contributors and commentators.
