Studies in Social Inequality – serie

Are there classes in America? In The Classless Society Paul Kingston forcefully answers no.This book directly challenges a long-standing intellectual tradition of class analysis, recently revitalized by such prominent scholars as Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe. Insisting on a realist conception of class, Kingston argues that presumed "classes" do not significantly share distinct, life-defining experiences.Individual chapters assess the extent of class structuration in five dimensions of life: mobility (how demographically cohesive are classes?), interaction patterns (do classes exist as communal groups?), cultural orientation (are there class cultures, as Bourdieu and his followers maintain?), class sentiment (to what extent do objective position and subjective sentiments align?), and political orientations (do classes represent distinct political forces?). This broad assessment is the basis for Kingston's conclusion that classes do not exist in America in any meaningful way. The Classless Society analyzes prominent general "maps" of the American class structure, as well as the less-studied extremes of socioeconomic position ("Lives of the Rich and Poor"), the alleged emergence of post-industrial classes (the "New Class" and the "McProletariat"), and class structuration in other societies ("American Unexceptionalism"). Kingston rigorously addresses the question, "How would you recognize a class if you saw one?" thus establishing clear grounds for engaging the issue. He relates the findings and methods of the best contemporary research in substantial detail, allowing the reader to assess the book's conclusions from a thorough evidentiary base.

Are there classes in America? In The Classless Society Paul Kingston forcefully answers no.This book directly challenges a long-standing intellectual tradition of class analysis, recently revitalized by such prominent scholars as Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe. Insisting on a realist conception of class, Kingston argues that presumed "classes" do not significantly share distinct, life-defining experiences.Individual chapters assess the extent of class structuration in five dimensions of life: mobility (how demographically cohesive are classes?), interaction patterns (do classes exist as communal groups?), cultural orientation (are there class cultures, as Bourdieu and his followers maintain?), class sentiment (to what extent do objective position and subjective sentiments align?), and political orientations (do classes represent distinct political forces?). This broad assessment is the basis for Kingston's conclusion that classes do not exist in America in any meaningful way. The Classless Society analyzes prominent general "maps" of the American class structure, as well as the less-studied extremes of socioeconomic position ("Lives of the Rich and Poor"), the alleged emergence of post-industrial classes (the "New Class" and the "McProletariat"), and class structuration in other societies ("American Unexceptionalism"). Kingston rigorously addresses the question, "How would you recognize a class if you saw one?" thus establishing clear grounds for engaging the issue. He relates the findings and methods of the best contemporary research in substantial detail, allowing the reader to assess the book's conclusions from a thorough evidentiary base.

At a time when social commentators are increasingly likely to assert the "death of class" as a source of social inequality and conflict, this far-reaching volume reasserts the significance of class and gender for understanding socioeconomic conditions. Rather than declining in importance, class and gender processes are being transformed by social and economic changes associated with postindustrialism, including the entrance of women into the labor market in ever greater numbers, a shift from manufacturing to services, and the rise of part-time employment.Moving away from the narrowly focused debates that have characterized much recent class analysis, the contributors to this book urge a nuanced approach that focuses on the specific institutional contexts of class-gender relations in various advanced industrial nations. Class and gender relationships in each country are contextually embedded, they argue, in such issues as the differences in welfare-state regimes, the varying availability of flexible forms of employment, and the degree to which the labor market is politically regulated.The essays analyze the class and gender bases of economic inequality in ways that are sensitive to nationally specific institutional conditions. Two introductory chapters set the terms of the theoretical analysis and provide a framework for thinking about the relationships between gender and class. The remaining chapters offer comparative, cross-national analyses that investigate empirical examples of the links between class and gender relations, including the changing gender composition of the middle class, gender differences in access to managerial positions, the social ramifications of flexible employment arrangements, the links between paid and unpaid work, and the increasing feminization of poverty.The contributors include Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund, Wallace Clement, Rosemary Crompton, Paula England, Siv Overas, Rachel Rosenfeld, and Erik Olin Wright.

One of the most dramatic economic changes of the past century has been the increase in married women's work outside the home. This volume examines the nature of married women's participation in the economies of three East Asian countries—Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. In addition to asking what is similar or different about women's economic participation in this region of the world compared to Western societies, the book also asks how women's work patterns vary across the three countries.The essays focus on key theoretical questions for the study of women's labor and, more broadly, economic gender inequality. How do we assess the "value" of work available to married women in different countries and cultural contexts? What forces promote or hinder women's work outside the home throughout marriage and childrearing? Does wage employment necessarily benefit women more than the "informal" sector (e.g., family-run businesses)? Is full-time work always more desirable than part-time work? Do women who return to the labor force after absences due to family responsibilities incur a heavy wage penalty for interrupted careers? The essays balance comparative assessments in a broad East Asian context with detailed investigations of one or more questions in the context of a specific country.The studies reveal that, although all three countries share common cultural and demographic conditions, patterns of women's economic participation are distinctly different in Taiwan from those in Japan and South Korea. Whereas women's participation in Taiwan's economy shows striking similarities to many Western countries, married women in Japan and Korea participate less in the economy, and their earnings differ more from men's than in Taiwan or the West. Why is Taiwan more similar to the West while Japan and South Korea are more similar to each other? The book draws on a broad range of materials to explain this puzzle.One of the explanations advanced is that overall labor demand, a greater supply of highly educated men, and more rigid work conditions (especially in large firms) in Japan and South Korea are major obstacles to the equal economic participation of married women in those countries. Also, the greater flexibility in work demands and work hours prevalent in Taiwan is complemented by relatively weaker patriarchal values in the family.

One of the most dramatic economic changes of the past century has been the increase in married women's work outside the home. This volume examines the nature of married women's participation in the economies of three East Asian countries—Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. In addition to asking what is similar or different about women's economic participation in this region of the world compared to Western societies, the book also asks how women's work patterns vary across the three countries.The essays focus on key theoretical questions for the study of women's labor and, more broadly, economic gender inequality. How do we assess the "value" of work available to married women in different countries and cultural contexts? What forces promote or hinder women's work outside the home throughout marriage and childrearing? Does wage employment necessarily benefit women more than the "informal" sector (e.g., family-run businesses)? Is full-time work always more desirable than part-time work? Do women who return to the labor force after absences due to family responsibilities incur a heavy wage penalty for interrupted careers? The essays balance comparative assessments in a broad East Asian context with detailed investigations of one or more questions in the context of a specific country.The studies reveal that, although all three countries share common cultural and demographic conditions, patterns of women's economic participation are distinctly different in Taiwan from those in Japan and South Korea. Whereas women's participation in Taiwan's economy shows striking similarities to many Western countries, married women in Japan and Korea participate less in the economy, and their earnings differ more from men's than in Taiwan or the West. Why is Taiwan more similar to the West while Japan and South Korea are more similar to each other? The book draws on a broad range of materials to explain this puzzle.One of the explanations advanced is that overall labor demand, a greater supply of highly educated men, and more rigid work conditions (especially in large firms) in Japan and South Korea are major obstacles to the equal economic participation of married women in those countries. Also, the greater flexibility in work demands and work hours prevalent in Taiwan is complemented by relatively weaker patriarchal values in the family.

The importance of educational certification for labor market success has increased since the 1970s. But social sciences still cannot answer a fundamental question: Who goes to college and why? In On the Edge of Commitment, Stephen L. Morgan offers a new model of educational achievement to explain why some students are committed to preparation for college.Morgan's model unites in one common framework the forward-looking cost-benefit assessments of students with social influence processes. The model is then used to explain puzzling race differences in patterns of high school achievement and subsequent rates of college enrollment. The book, using this model, makes a major theoretical statement on the process of educational achievement, which will help to launch a new generation of empirical work.

This volume brings together leading public intellectuals—Amartya Sen, Martha C. Nussbaum, François Bourguignon, William J. Wilson, Douglas S. Massey, and Martha A. Fineman—to take stock of current analytic understandings of poverty and inequality. Contemporary research on inequality has largely relied on conceptual advances several decades old, even though the basic structure of global inequality is changing in fundamental ways. The reliance on conventional poverty indices, rights-based approaches to poverty reduction, and traditional modeling of social mobility has left scholars and policymakers poorly equipped to address modern challenges. The contributors show how contemporary poverty is forged in neighborhoods, argue that discrimination in housing markets is a profound source of poverty, suggest that gender inequalities in the family and in the social evaluation of the caretaking role remain a hidden dimension of inequality, and develop the argument that contemporary inequality is best understood as an inequality in fundamental human capabilities. This book demonstrates in manifold ways how contemporary scholarship and policy must be recast to make sense of new and emerging forms of poverty and social exclusion.

This volume brings together leading public intellectuals—Amartya Sen, Martha C. Nussbaum, François Bourguignon, William J. Wilson, Douglas S. Massey, and Martha A. Fineman—to take stock of current analytic understandings of poverty and inequality. Contemporary research on inequality has largely relied on conceptual advances several decades old, even though the basic structure of global inequality is changing in fundamental ways. The reliance on conventional poverty indices, rights-based approaches to poverty reduction, and traditional modeling of social mobility has left scholars and policymakers poorly equipped to address modern challenges. The contributors show how contemporary poverty is forged in neighborhoods, argue that discrimination in housing markets is a profound source of poverty, suggest that gender inequalities in the family and in the social evaluation of the caretaking role remain a hidden dimension of inequality, and develop the argument that contemporary inequality is best understood as an inequality in fundamental human capabilities. This book demonstrates in manifold ways how contemporary scholarship and policy must be recast to make sense of new and emerging forms of poverty and social exclusion.

Although a strong indicator of social status, home ownership has rarely emerged as a topic in social inequality research. This book compares twelve countries—the United States, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Israel—to determine the interdependence of social inequality and homeownership attainment over the life course. Examining countries that are similar with respect to socioeconomic development, but different in regard to their housing policies, the authors show that housing policies matter and are largely consistent with a country's general approach in the provision of welfare. This book presents a valuable contribution to the social stratification literature, which traditionally has neglected the dimension of home ownership. It goes beyond most housing studies by adopting a life-course framework and longitudinal approach. The empirical findings provide evidence that in all countries under study—even those of the social democratic welfare regime type—labor market position matters in one's chances to become a homeowner.

On Sociology—extensively revised, updated, and enlarged for this second edition—addresses the current state of the discipline. Looking to unify increasingly disparate areas of theory and research, John Goldthorpe presents a new mainstream for sociology, combining the demonstrated strengths of large-scale quantitative research and the explanatory power of social action theory. The author's wide-ranging mastery, extending over comparative macro-sociology, applications of rational action theory, and philosophical and theoretical debates on causality, to key questions in educational attainment and class analysis and to the history of statistics in the social sciences, make this an essential book for any sociologist.The collection of closely interlinked essays is presented in two volumes. Volume One begins with a series of critical essays that focus on methodological problems in certain styles of sociological work. The underlying theme is the need for recognition of a common "logic of inference" that must underpin qualitative and quantitative work alike. Volume Two illustrates and applies a new mainstream program, addressing various topics in social stratification to highlight different aspects of the integration of research and theory. Volume Two ends with two retrospective essays that place the concerns of On Sociology in the context of the history of the discipline in both the United States and Europe.

On Sociology—extensively revised, updated, and enlarged for this second edition—addresses the current state of the discipline. Looking to unify increasingly disparate areas of theory and research, John Goldthorpe presents a new mainstream for sociology, combining the demonstrated strengths of large-scale quantitative research and the explanatory power of social action theory. The author's wide-ranging mastery, extending over comparative macro-sociology, applications of rational action theory, and philosophical and theoretical debates on causality, to key questions in educational attainment and class analysis and to the history of statistics in the social sciences, make this an essential book for any sociologist.The collection of closely interlinked essays is presented in two volumes. Volume One begins with a series of critical essays that focus on methodological problems in certain styles of sociological work. The underlying theme is the need for recognition of a common "logic of inference" that must underpin qualitative and quantitative work alike. Volume Two illustrates and applies a new mainstream program, addressing various topics in social stratification to highlight different aspects of the integration of research and theory. Volume Two ends with two retrospective essays that place the concerns of On Sociology in the context of the history of the discipline in both the United States and Europe.

see copy for volume one.

see copy for volume one.

Analyzing Inequality summarizes key issues in today's theoretically guided empirical research on social inequality, life course, and cross-national comparative sociology. It describes the progress made in terms of data sources, both cross-sectional and longitudinal; the new instruments that make inequality research possible; new ways of thinking and explaining; and empirical findings or important contributions of rigorous empirical research to our understanding. The chapters, each written by a distinguished social scientist, are of interest to both scholars and students. This is the only book to date to take stock of the state of the art in stratification research, examining data, methods, theory, and new empirical findings. Analyzing Inequality offers an unusually and impressively broad coverage of substantive topics in the field.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the beginning of one of the most interesting natural experiments in recent history. The East German transition from a Communist state to part of the Federal Republic of Germany abruptly created a new social order as old institutions were abolished and new counterparts imported. This unique situation provides an exceptional opportunity to examine the central tenets of life course sociology. The empirical chapters of this book draw a comprehensive picture of life course transformation, demonstrating how the combination of life course dynamics coupled with an extraordinary pace of system change affect individual lives. How much turbulence was created by the transition and how much stability was preserved? How did the qualifications and resources acquired before 1989 influence the fortunes in the restructured economy? How did the privatization and reorganization of firms impact individuals? Did the transformation experiences differ by age/cohort and gender? How stable were social networks at work and in the family? Were personality characteristics important mediators of post-1989 success or failure or were they rather changed by them? How specific were the East German life trajectories in comparison with Poland and West-Germany?

How often do working-class children obtain college degrees and then pursue professional careers? Conversely, how frequently do the children of doctors and lawyers fail to enter high status careers upon completion of their schooling? As inequalities of wealth and income have increased in industrialized nations over the past 30 years, have patterns of between-generation mobility changed? In this volume, leading sociologists and economists present original findings and conceptual arguments in response to questions like these. After assessing the range of mobility patterns observed in recent decades, the volume considers the mechanisms that generate mobility, focusing on both the training and skills that are rewarded in the labor market as well as the role of educational institutions in certifying graduates for professional positions. The volume concludes with chapters that assess the contexts of social mobility, examining the impact of macroeconomic conditions and societal levels of inequality on social and economic mobility.

This book surveys whether and how social classes differ in their views on important social issues, such as work and family, the economy and politics, rights and morals, and the distribution of justice. What accounts for such differences in opinion? Are class differences comparable and consistent across different nations? Do class differences change over time?In The Moral Economy of Class, Stefan Svallfors builds on data from large-scale comparative surveys to paint a picture of these class differences. Comparing the United States, Britain, Germany, and Sweden, he shows that class differences are highly persistent. Class remains one of the key dividing lines in society.

The last half-century has witnessed dramatic declines in gender inequality, evidenced by the rise of egalitarian views on gender roles and the narrowing of long-standing gender gaps in university attendance and labor force participation. This development, while spectacular, has been coupled with similarly impressive forms of resistance to equalization, most notably the continuing tendency for women to crowd into female "occupational ghettos." This book answers the important questions: Why has such extreme segregation persisted even as other types of gender inequality have lessened? Why is segregation especially extreme in precisely those countries that appear most committed to egalitarian reform and family-friendly policies?

A comparative analysis of the political attitudes, values, aspirations, and identities of citizens in advanced industrial societies, this book focuses on the different ways in which social policies and national politics affect personal opinions on justice, political responsibility, and the overall trustworthiness of politicians. How have socio-political orientations changed in recent years? How do national institutions impact people's attitudes and values? Is there a correlation between orientations and changing social stratification patterns? How are attitudes translated into action under different institutional arrangements? What impact do new supranational institutions have on the orientations of mass publics?Until now, these themes have not received much attention from scholars. With clarity and insight, this book, drawing on the extensive high-quality databases created over the last decade stemming from the International Social Survey Program and the European Social Survey, makes an important contribution to the growing literature of theoretically informed comparative work.

The mass expansion of higher education is one of the most important social transformations of the second half of the twentieth century. In this book, scholars from 15 countries, representing Western and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Israel, Australia, and the United States, assess the links between this expansion and inequality in the national context. Contrary to most expectations, the authors show that as access to higher education expands, all social classes benefit. Neither greater diversification nor privatization in higher education results in greater inequality. In some cases, especially where the most advantaged already have significant access to higher education, opportunities increase most for persons from disadvantaged origins. Also, during the late twentieth century, opportunities for women increased faster than those for men. Offering a new spin on conventional wisdom, this book shows how all social classes benefit from the expansion of higher education.

Why do racial and ethnic groups discriminate against each other? The most common sociological answer is that they want to monopolize scarce resources—good jobs or top educations—for themselves. This book offers a different answer, showing that racial and ethnic discrimination can also occur to preserve particular group identities.Shifting Ethnic Boundaries and Inequality in Israel focuses on the early period of Israeli statehood to examine how the European Jewish founders treated Middle Eastern Jewish immigrants. The author argues that, shaped by their own unique encounter with European colonialism, the European Jews were intent on producing Israel as part of the West. To this end, they excluded and discriminated against those Middle Eastern Jews who threatened the goal of Westernization. Blending quantitative and qualitative evidence, Aziza Khazzoom provides a compelling rationale for the emergence of ethnic identity and group discrimination, while also suggesting new ways to understand Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Analyzing Inequality summarizes key issues in today's theoretically guided empirical research on social inequality, life course, and cross-national comparative sociology. It describes the progress made in terms of data sources, both cross-sectional and longitudinal; the new instruments that make inequality research possible; new ways of thinking and explaining; and empirical findings or important contributions of rigorous empirical research to our understanding. The chapters, each written by a distinguished social scientist, are of interest to both scholars and students. This is the only book to date to take stock of the state of the art in stratification research, examining data, methods, theory, and new empirical findings. Analyzing Inequality offers an unusually and impressively broad coverage of substantive topics in the field.

In the last two decades of the twentieth century, following the worldwide collapse of communism, China ascended from being one of the most egalitarian societies in the world to one of the more unequal. Wang Feng documents the process of rising inequality in urban China during this period, and explores the underlying structural forces that define China's emerging social landscape. By treating social categories created under socialism, such as cities and work organizations, as explicit forces generating inequality, the author reveals a pattern that embodies both enlarging inequality between social categories and persistent equality within them. This pattern is traced to China's post-socialist political economy and to a long-existing cultural tradition that places a premium on harmony and group solidarity. China's great reversal from equality to inequality is a powerful example of how social categories, not individual traits and preferences, structure and maintain inequality.

The Chinese economy's return to commodification and privatization has greatly diversified China's institutional landscape. With the migration of more than 140 million villagers to cities and rapid urbanization of rural settlements, it is no longer possible to presume that the nation can be divided into strictly urban or rural classifications.Creating Wealth and Poverty in Postsocialist China draws on a wide variety of recent national surveys and detailed case studies to capture the diversity of postsocialist China and identify the contradictory dynamics forging contemporary social stratification. Focusing on economic inequality, social stratification, power relations, and everyday life chances, the volume provides an overview of postsocialist class order and contributes to current debates over the forces driving global inequalities. This book will be a must read for those interested in social inequality, stratification, class formation, postsocialist transformations, and China and Asian studies.

Income inequality is an increasingly pressing issue in the United States and around the world. This book explores five critical issues to introduce some of the key moral and empirical questions about income, gender, and racial inequality: Do we have a moral obligation to eliminate poverty?Is inequality a necessary evil that's the best way available to motivate economic action and increase total outpt?Can we retain a meaningful democracy even when extreme inequality allows the rich to purchase political privilege?Is the recent stalling out of long-term declines in gender inequality a historic reversal that presages a new gender order?How are racial and ethnic inequalities likely to evolve as minority populations grow ever larger, as intermarriage increases, and as new forms of immigration unfold?Leading public intellectuals debate these questions in a no-holds-barred exploration of our New Gilded Age.

Income inequality is an increasingly pressing issue in the United States and around the world. This book explores five critical issues to introduce some of the key moral and empirical questions about income, gender, and racial inequality: Do we have a moral obligation to eliminate poverty?Is inequality a necessary evil that's the best way available to motivate economic action and increase total outpt?Can we retain a meaningful democracy even when extreme inequality allows the rich to purchase political privilege?Is the recent stalling out of long-term declines in gender inequality a historic reversal that presages a new gender order?How are racial and ethnic inequalities likely to evolve as minority populations grow ever larger, as intermarriage increases, and as new forms of immigration unfold?Leading public intellectuals debate these questions in a no-holds-barred exploration of our New Gilded Age.

Gendered Trajectories explores why industrial societies vary in the pace at which they reduce gender inequality and compares changes in women's employment opportunities in Japan and Taiwan over the last half-century. Japan has undergone much less improvement in women's economic status than Taiwan, despite its more advanced economy and greater welfare provisions. The difference is particularly puzzling because the two countries share many institutional practices and values. Drawing on historical trends, survey statistics, and personal interviews with people in both countries, Yu shows how country-specific organizational arrangements and industrial policies affect women's employment. In particular, the conditions faced by Japanese and Taiwanese women in the workplace have a profound effect on their labor force participation at critical points in their lives. Women's lifetime employment decisions in turn shape the divergent trajectories in gender equality. Few studies documenting the development of women's economic lives are based on non-Western societies and even fewer adopt a comparative perspective. This perceptive work demonstrates and underscores the importance of understanding gender inequality as a long-term, dynamic social process.

The Chinese economy's return to commodification and privatization has greatly diversified China's institutional landscape. With the migration of more than 140 million villagers to cities and rapid urbanization of rural settlements, it is no longer possible to presume that the nation can be divided into strictly urban or rural classifications.Creating Wealth and Poverty in Postsocialist China draws on a wide variety of recent national surveys and detailed case studies to capture the diversity of postsocialist China and identify the contradictory dynamics forging contemporary social stratification. Focusing on economic inequality, social stratification, power relations, and everyday life chances, the volume provides an overview of postsocialist class order and contributes to current debates over the forces driving global inequalities. This book will be a must read for those interested in social inequality, stratification, class formation, postsocialist transformations, and China and Asian studies.

In Dividing the Domestic, leading international scholars roll up their sleeves to investigate how culture and country characteristics permeate our households and our private lives. The book introduces novel frameworks for understanding why the household remains a bastion of traditional gender relations—even when employed full-time, women everywhere still do most of the work around the house, and poor women spend more time on housework than affluent women. Education systems, tax codes, labor laws, public polices, and cultural beliefs about motherhood and marriage all make a difference. Any accounting of "who does what" needs to consider the complicity of trade unions, state arrangements for children's schooling, and new cultural prescriptions for a happy marriage. With its cross-national perspective, this pioneering volume speaks not only to sociologists concerned with gender and family, but also to those interested in scholarship on states, public policy, culture, and social inequality.