Falling sideways? Social status and the true nature of elite downward mobility

Bibliographic Data

ID2092838
AuthorsRobert De Vries (0000-0002-6776-836X, University of Kent, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume124
Pages103089
Publication date2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0049-089X • E-ISSN: 1096-0317
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103089
PMID39542607
OpenAlexW4403259545
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited41

Downward mobility is an essential, but commonly overlooked component of social mobility. Existing estimates of downward mobility are routinely based on unidimensional measures of income and social class. This ignores the potential for substantial retention of advantage in other domains of stratification – particularly social status. In this paper, I use highly detailed occupational data from a representative UK sample to examine patterns of multidimensional mobility among those from the most advantaged backgrounds. I find that multidimensional measures reveal dramatically different patterns of downward mobility – particularly for women, who, when downwardly mobile in terms of social class, often retain privileged social status positions. I also find that those whose parents held jobs at the very top of the status distribution were much less likely to be downwardly mobile than previous mobility estimates have suggested – consistent with public perceptions of a ‘glass floor’. • Patterns of downward mobility are substantially different when destinations are captured in terms of both class and status. • This is particularly true for women, who are much more likely than men to be downwardly class but not status mobile. • Those from the highest prestige backgrounds rarely suffer meaningful falls – aligning with perceptions of a ‘glass floor’

Elite · Falling (accident) · Medical emergency · Poison control · Political science · Politics · Social mobility · Sociology · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Medicine · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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