On the Usefulness of Class Analysis in Research on Social Mobility and Socioeconomic Inequality
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2302732 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aage B Sorensen (Harvard University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 71-87 |
| Publication date | 1991-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Sociologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/000169939103400201 |
| OpenAlex | W2026327803 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 40 |
| References cited | 34 |
The article critically discusses the two main uses of the concept of class in recent stratification research. They are John Goldthorpe's analysis of social mobility from a class formation perspective and Erik O Wright's analysis of income inequality in the labor market. I argue that the main problem with both efforts is the lack of a satisfactory theory of how class generates inequality within the labor market. The logic of Gold thorpe's argument assumes that class causes inequality generating separate class interests in the labor market, but he does not provide such a theory. Wnght provides such a theory. However, his several class schemes either provide explanations for inequality that can be derived from standard internal labor market theory that does not satisfy the requirement of class theory; or, they are based on a concept of exploitation that is unsatisfactory for the identification of class categories within the labor market. I observe that it is not clear why Marxist theory needs a class theory of how inequality is generated within the labor market: standard neo-classical economic theory seems consistent with Marx's own conception of the capitalist economy
Argument (complex analysis · Class (philosophy · Class analysis · Economic inequality · Economics · Epistemology · Inequality · Market economy · Marxist philosophy · Neoclassical economics · Political science · Positive economics · Social class · Social inequality · Social mobility · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Law · Mathematics · Political Economy and Marxism · Social and Cultural Dynamics
Classe média e mudanças de renda no Brasil
Employment Regimes and the Quality of Work
Foundations of Pierre Bourdieu's class analysis
Foundations of a neo-Weberian class analysis
Skills and Wages in European Labour Markets
Work and Family in Conflict? The Impact of Work Demands on Family Life
Foundations of a neo-Marxist class analysis
Foundations of a post-class analysis
Osztálystruktúra és jövedelemegyenlőtlenség
Konkurrenz als Erklärungsansatz im Werk Theodor Geigers
Approaches to Class Analysis
A classe social tem importância no estudo dos movimentos sociais? Uma teoria do radicalismo da classe média
Social Inequality and the Sociology of Life Style
Demographic dynamics of poverty and income inequality
Inequality and Social Class in Contemporary China
Class structure and income inequality in transitional China
The Promising Future of Class Analysis
The Truth about Class Inequality
Individuelle Qualifikation, berufliche Schließung oder betriebliche Lohnpolitik – was steht hinter dem Anstieg der Lohnungleichheit
El prometedor futuro del análisis de clase
Concepts and Measurement of Prestige
Social Mobility among Men
Vertical and Nonvertical Effects in Class Mobility
Class analysis from a normative perspective
Conclusion
The Plausibility of Class Cultural Explanations
Is Class Changing? A Work-Life History Perspective on the Salariat
Patterns of Absolute and Relative Social Mobility
Organised Violence, Inequality and Work
The Persistence of Classes in Post-Industrial Societies
Class Analysis and Class Theory
Class as a Social Fact
Stratification and Segregation
Labour Market Rewards and the Neo-Classical Soup
The Social Patterning of Child Mortality
Class Clues
Social networks and distributive conflict
Toward a Sounder Basis for Class Analysis
Consider your origins
Issues in the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Socioeconomic Background
Prestige, class, and mobility
Social mobility and class structure.
Recent trends in occupational mobility
The social grading of occupations
Social Mobility In Britain (International Library of Society)
Markets and Hierarchies : analysis and antitrust implications
The class structure of the advanced societies.
Class structure and income determination
Class Structure in the Social Consciousness (International Library of Society)
Work and Industry
A General Theory of Exploitation and Class
Commonality and variation in social fluidity in industrial nations. Part I
Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts
Job-Shift Patterns in the Federal Republic of Germany
The American occupational structure
Labor Contracts as Partial Gift Exchange
Social Fluidity in Industrial Nations
The American Class Structure
The Cash Posters
Marxist Class Categories and Income Inequality
First Lectures in Political Sociology
On Creating Efficient Industrial Administrations
Classes in the United States and Sweden
Jobs and classes
Are American rates of social mobility exceptionally high? New evidence on an old issue
Economic Segmentation, Worker Power, and Income Inequality
The Social Class Structure of Occupational Mobility
Class, Occupation, and Inequality in Job Rewards
| Unique citing works | 40 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,18 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 2025 (34) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 39 |