Analyzing Inequality

Stefan Svallfors is Professor of Sociology at Umeå University, Sweden, and head of the Swedish component of the European Social Survey. He is thee author of The Moral Economy of Class (Stanford, 2006).

"A beautiful volume of truly informative and stimulating essays at the current frontiers of stratification research. In fact, what Analyzing Inequality achieves is to provide five eminent international scholars with the space to reflect on what they perceive as pressing problems of research in those specific fields to which they have contributed over their own life course and wherein they are clearly considered as among the leading experts worldwide."—American Journal of Sociology "[It] is heartening to see the appearance of a book demonstrating the vibrancy and potential of quantitative research on social inequality internationally"—Canadian Journal of Sociology Online "The book is well-written and covers many of the central topics for European and international mobility and attainment researchers."—Contemporary Sociology "Svallfors has produced a fitting tribute to the distinguished career of Robert Erikson. Leading scholars reflect on the current state of theory and research about inequality and social mobility in the U.S. and Europe. This insightful collection of essays deserves our attention."—Thomas A. DiPrete, Columbia University "In this excellent volume, leading social scientists show how theoretical and methodological advancements have transformed the study of social stratification and social inequality. The book is a rich source of information on the study of poverty, research on gender inequality, the unification of rational choice theory and large scale data analysis, and innovations in cross-national comparative research." —Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Bamberg University

• CONTENTS List of Tables and Figuresxx List of Contributorsxx Prefacexxx Chapter One Introduction1 Stefan Svallfors Chapter two Life Courses and Life Chances in a Comparative Perspective00 Karl Ulrich Mayer Chapter three Progress in Sociology: The Case of Social Mobility Research61 John H Goldthorpe Chapter four Social Indicators, Policy, and Measuring Progress97 A B Atkinson Chapter five Family Structure, Gender Roles and Social Inequality 126 Annemette S rensen Chapter six Inequalities in Later Life: Gender, marital status and health behaviours152 Sara Arber Index