What We Have (Recently) Learned
RC28’s Contributions Over the Last Two Decades
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24227328 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J E Brand (0000-0002-6568-498X), H Park (0000-0001-8037-128X), Michelle Jackson (0000-0002-6879-4711) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 101210 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0276-5624 • E-ISSN: 1878-5654 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.rssm.2026.101210 |
| OpenAlex | W7221361781 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 157 |
In this article, we provide an updated complement to Hout and DiPrete’s (2006) influential review of RC28 scholarship, offering an analysis of contributions from the RC28 community since the early 2000s. Drawing on topic models of conference presentations, highly cited articles and books presented at RC28 conferences and written by RC28 board members, RSSM edited volumes, a qualitative survey of RC28 members, and plenary session feedback from two RC28 conferences, we identify 21 recent key contributions to social stratification and mobility research. We show thatRC28 scholars have increasingly emphasized educational, income and wealth, and gender inequality, while placing less focus on social class. Some of the most highly cited research over the last two decades include studies on the consequences of income inequality, differential economic returns to college, family background effects on children’s achievement, gender gaps in educational achievement, persistent inequality in educational attainment, changes inintergenerational mobility patterns, and the importance of wealth inequality. The community’s methodological focus has shifted from log-linear models to methods for causal inference. Despite improvements in participation from Asia, the field would benefit from broader global inclusion. We conclude that to remain relevant and impactful, RC28 must not only continue producing highquality research but also actively engage with policymakers, practitioners, and the public to ensure that its insights help shape more equitable societies.
causal identification · class structure · Gender inequality · income inequality · intergenerational reproduction · racial and ethnic inequality · research agenda · Social mobility · Social stratification · wealth inequality · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Social and Cultural Dynamics
Social Background and Children's Cognitive Skills
Americans’ occupational status reflects the status of both of their parents
Long-term decline in intergenerational mobility in the United States since the 1850s
On class differentials in educational attainment
Measuring the predictability of life outcomes with a scientific mass collaboration
The Effect of School Tracking on Student Achievement and Inequality
Expansion, differentiation, and the persistence of social class inequalities in British higher education
How Has Educational Expansion Shaped Social Mobility Trends in the United States
The Feminization of Occupations and Change in Wages
Child-Driven Parenting
A General Panel Model with Random and Fixed Effects
Intergenerational Educational Mobility and Life-Course Income Trajectories in the United States
Educational Expansion and Social Mobility in the 20th Century
A Life-Changing Event
Generations of Advantage. Multigenerational Correlations in Family Wealth
Curricular Tracking and Central Examinations
Cumulative Advantage as a Mechanism for Inequality
Is universal early childhood education and care an equalizer? A systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence
Why Does Parental Divorce Lower Children’s Educational Attainment? A Causal Mediation Analysis
Is College Really “the” Equalizer? New Evidence Addressing Unobserved Selection
Educational equalization stalled? Trends in inequality of educational opportunity between 1930 and 1980 across 26 European nations
The gendered division of cognitive household labor, mental load, and family–work conflict in European countries
Gendered university major choice
Inequality in learning opportunities during Covid-19
Work less, help out more? The persistence of gender inequality in housework and childcare during UK Covid-19
The role of higher education stratification in the reproduction of social inequality in the labor market
What works to reduce inequalities in higher education? A systematic review of the (quasi-)experimental literature on outreach and financial aid
Does the coronavirus pandemic level the gender inequality curve? (It doesn’t)
Parental education, class and income over early life course and children's achievement
Stratification and the formation of expectations in highly differentiated educational systems
Intergenerational social mobility in Spain between 1956 and 2011
Care and careers
Pigmentocracies
Family scholarly culture and educational success
The motherhood penalty and The fatherhood premium in employment during covid-19
What we have learned
Trends in educational assortative marriage from 1940 to 2003
The household registration system and social stratification in China
Trends in Educational Assortative Marriage in China Over the Past Century
The Educational Consequences of Teen Childbearing
Gendered Diverging Destinies
Growing Wealth Gaps in Education
The Effect of Maternal Stress on Birth Outcomes
The Effects of Grandparents on Children’s Schooling
A Multigenerational View of Inequality
Shadow Education, American Style
Employment Stability in the U.S. Labor Market
Assessing Bias in the Estimation of Causal Effects
Understanding trends in social fluidity in Western Europe
Long-term Trends in Educational Inequality in Europe
Immigrants' Life Satisfaction in Europe
Stratification in Higher Education and Its Relationship with Social Inequality
Intergenerational Class Mobility in Three Western European Societies
Nonpersistent Inequality in Educational Attainment
School-to-Work Linkages, Educational Mismatches, and Labor Market Outcomes
Educational Inequality, Educational Expansion, and Intergenerational Income Persistence in the United States
National Family Policies and Mothers’ Employment
Estimating Heterogeneous Treatment Effects with Observational Data
Explaining Educational Differentials
Analyses of Intergenerational Mobility
Social Stratification across Three Generations
Social closure, micro-class immobility and the intergenerational reproduction of the upper class
How does cultural capital affect educational performance
The Extended Family and Children's Educational Success
Equalization or Selection? Reassessing the "Meritocratic Power" of a College Degree in Intergenerational Income Mobility
Who Benefits Most from College
Bringing Intergenerational Social Mobility Research into the Twenty-first Century
Higher Education and the Black-White Earnings Gap
Diversity, Opportunity, and the Shifting Meritocracy in Higher Education
Consolidated Advantage
Class and Status
Scar Effects of Unemployment
Precarious Work, Insecure Workers
The Grandparents Effect in Social Mobility
Rising Intragenerational Occupational Mobility in the United States, 1969 to 2011
School Context and the Gender Gap in Educational Achievement
The Evolution of Class Inequality in Higher Education
His and Her Earnings Following Parenthood in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom
The Growing Female Advantage in College Completion
The Economic Incorporation of Immigrants in 18 Western Societies
Public Investments and Class Gaps in Parents' Developmental Expenditures
The Wealth Inequality of Nations
Grand Advantage
The Wage Penalty for Motherhood
Is Meritocracy Not So Bad After All? Educational Expansion and Intergenerational Mobility in 40 Countries
Upgrading or polarization? Occupational change in Britain, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, 1990-2008
Labor market dualism and the heterogeneous wage gap for temporary employment
The paradox of inequality
Muslim by default or religious discrimination? Results from a cross-national field experiment on hiring discrimination
Harried and Unhealthy? Parenthood, Time Pressure, and Mental Health
The long-term consequences of parental divorce for children's educational attainment
Interpersonal Influences and Educational Aspirations in 12 Countries
Maximally Maintained Inequality
Stepping-Stones or Traps
Occupational segregation and gender inequality in job quality
The Gender Revolution
Are Social Classes Dying
Measuring Class Hierarchies in Postindustrial Societies
Attendance, Completion, and Heterogeneous Returns to College
Advanced Placement Gatekeeping and Racialized Tracking
| Highly cited | No |
|---|