Occupational earning potential

A new measure of social hierarchy in Europe and the US

Bibliographic Data

ID7772036
AuthorsDaniel Oesch (0000-0003-1704-853X, LIVES, University of Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland, corresponding author), Oliver Lipps (0000-0001-9865-2311, FORS , 1015 Lausanne), Roujman Shahbazian (0000-0003-2611-0198, Uppsala University , 75126 Uppsala), Erik Bihagen (0000-0001-8800-9867, SOFI, Stockholm University , 10691 Stockholm), Katy Morris (0000-0002-6541-8067, LIVES, University of Lausanne , 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland)
Year2025
Volume42
Issue3
Pages421-441
Publication date2025-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-7215 • E-ISSN: 1468-2672
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/esr/jcaf035
OpenAlexW4412825211
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited47

Social stratification is interested in unequal life chances and assumes the existence of a hierarchy of more or less advantageous occupations. Yet occupations are not easily translated into a linear hierarchical measure. Influential scales combine multiple indicators and lack intuitive interpretation. We therefore present a new scale based on occupations’ earnings potential (OEP). OEP measures the median earnings of occupations and expresses them as percentiles of the overall earnings structure: if mechanics earn the national median wage, their OEP is 50. We construct national OEP scales using annual microdata pooled over several decades for Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Consistent with the Treiman constant, these national scales are highly correlated over time and across countries, justifying the use of one common OEP scale. When applied to another European dataset, the common OEP scale explains a quarter of the variance in earnings—and works as well for men as women and as well for countries used to construct the scale as for other countries. Moreover, it is associated with the causes (education) and consequences (social mobility) that the theory expects. OEP thereby provides a simple and parsimonious indicator of economic advantage that can be meaningfully interpreted

Data mining · Econometrics · Economics · Hierarchy · Market economy · Measure (data warehouse) · Sociology · Computer Science · Employment and Welfare Studies · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Social and Cultural Dynamics