Intergenerational Upward Mobility Research Articles

Changes in the sociodemographic composition of the lowest socioeconomic group over time, 1987–2001

BackgroundWhen comparing health differences of groups with equal socioeconomic status (SES) over time, the sociodemographic composition of such a SES group is considered to be constant. However, when the periods are sufficiently spaced in time, sociodemographic changes may have occurred. The aim of this study is to examine in which respects the sociodemographic composition of lowest SES group changed between 1987 and 2001.MethodsOur data were derived from the first and second Dutch National Survey of General Practice conducted in 1987 and 2001. In 1987 sociodemographic data from all listed patients (N = 334,007) were obtained by filling out a registration form at the practice (response 78.3%, 261,691 persons), in 2001 these data from all listed patients (385,461) were obtained by postal survey (response 76.9%, 296,243 persons). Participants were primarily classified according to their occupation into three SES groups: lowest, middle and highest.ResultsIn comparison with 1987, the lowest SES group decreased in relative size from 34.9% to 29.5%. Within this smaller SES group, the relative contribution of persons with a higher education more than doubled for females and doubled for males. This indicates that the relation between educational level and occupation was less firmly anchored in 2001 than in 1987.The relative proportion of some disadvantaged groups (divorced, unemployed) increased in the lowest SES group, but the size of this effect was smaller than the increase from higher education. Young people (0–24 years) were proportionally less often represented in the lowest SES group.Non-Western immigrants contributed in 2001 proportionally less to the lowest SES group than in 1987, because of an intergenerational upward mobility of the second generation.ConclusionOn balance, the changes in the composition did not result in an accumulation of disadvantaged groups in the lowest SES group. On the contrary, the influx of people with higher educational qualifications between 1987 and 2001 could result in better health outcomes and health perspectives of the lowest SES group

Socioeconomic position in childhood and in adulthood and functional limitations in midlife: Data from a nationally-representative survey of French men and women

Research shows that lifetime socioeconomic circumstances are associated with adult health. Yet most studies to date have focused on mortality and additional data on morbidity outcomes are needed. Additionally, most research in this area has been conducted in Northern European countries or in the United States, and less is known about the extent of socioeconomic inequalities in health in other industrialized countries with different health and labour market characteristics. In this study, we examined the relationship between the socioeconomic trajectory from childhood to adulthood and functional limitations in midlife in France. We used data from a nationally-representative sample of French men and women conducted in 2002–2003 (the Life History survey). Participants ( n=4798) were 35–64 years of age at the time of the survey. standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs) associated with different lifelong trajectories were estimated using indirect age standardization. Overall, the socioeconomic trajectory from childhood to adulthood was associated with functional limitations in midlife in both men and women. The experience of lifelong socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with SMRs of 1.44, p<0.0001 in men and 1.21, p=0.0207 in women. In men, the prevalence of functional limitations was low among those who experienced upward intergenerational mobility and high among those who experienced a downward trajectory during the course of their professional career. Additionally, the prevalence of functional limitations was elevated among men and women who experienced unemployment. These findings indicate that in French men and women, lifetime socioeconomic circumstances are associated with functional limitations in midlife. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie these health disparities will require additional studies of specific health outcomes.

More equal but less mobile?: Education financing and intergenerational mobility in Italy and in the US

A centralised and egalitarian school system reduces the cost of education for poor families, and so it should reduce income inequality and make intergenerational mobility easier. In this paper we provide evidence that Italy, compared to the USA, displays less income inequality, as expected given the type of school system, but also less intergenerational upward mobility between occupations and between education levels. We explore some of the reasons which can explain this puzzling result and conclude that in a world in which family background is important for labor market success, a centralised and egalitarian tertiary education does not necessarily help poor children and may take away from them a fundamental tool to prove their talent and to compete with rich children.

The changing relationship between university education and intergenerational social mobility

This paper examines the intergenerational occupational mobility patterns for five cohorts of male and female university graduates who received degrees between i960 and 1976. After 1964 there is a marked decline in the prospects of both males and females for upward intergenerational mobility. Males still experience more mobility than females in all time periods, although the sex difference appears to be diminishing over time. This pattern reflects worsened mobility prospects for males rather than any improvement for females. Regional comparisons in the 1976 national data identify differences in the distribution of father's occupational prestige across Canada and, therefore, different structural conditions by region for intergenerational occupational mobility.This paper examines three issues in intergenerational social mobility as measured by occupational achievement. Using new and earlier published data on five cohorts of graduates, we examine the extent to which university education has declined over time as a route to upward intergenerational mobility. Changes in the labour market for graduates are identified as the major reasons for such declines. Second, we examine the extent to which sex differences in intergenerational mobility have diminished over time and the extent to which this is a consequence of worsening mobility prospects for males rather than improving prospects for females. Third, we examine some differences in intergenerational mobility patterns for the five economic regions of Canada.

The Liability of Ethnicity in Israel

This paper examines the inequalities in status attainment between Israeli Oriental-Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews in the early 1960s; replicates Duncan's (c) methods of regression and component analyses; and compares the Israeli findings with Duncan's (c) for American blacks and whites for the same period. The most important causes of the observed inequalities arefound to differ between the two countries: lack of equal educational attainment of OrientalSephardim in Israel; discrimination against blacks in the United States. They have less education, jobs of lower skill, prestige, and pay; less upward intergenerational mobility, and lower incomes. They are segregated in sections of large cities and isolated in smaller communities. They have very large families, more juvenile delinquents and adult criminals. Others do not want to live near them nor send their children to school with theirs. 1 Who are they? While these characteristics might well describe the conditions and the consequences of inequality for blacks in the United States, they also-variously referred to as Orientals, Sephardim, or Asian-Africans, in contrast to another group of Jews, who are referred to as Westerners, Europeans, or I shall usually refer to them, respectively, as Oriental-Sephardim and Ashkenazim. Although their historical, cultural, and social roots differ, both the United States and Israel have identifiable superordinate and subordinate groups with inequalities in their socioeconomic attainments and power. In the United States, the major division is drawn racially between blacks and whites, while in Israel, one important cleavage is ethnic, between Jews from the West (primarily Europe) and those from Asia and Africa.2 The purpose of this paper is to analyze status attainment in Israel in

Trends in Occupational Mobility in Indianapolis

Trends in Occupational Mobility in Indianapolis