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Title: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY TABLES VERSUS ECONOMIC MODELS IN THE STUDY OF INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: The study of intergenerational mobility was once traditionally viewed as a quintessentially sociological topic that was widely investigated using occupational mobility tables. However, the popularity of occupational mobility tables seems to be rapidly dwindling due to their various shortcomings. The first limitation is contextual nature of occupation which provides an increasingly imprecise indicator of the individual’s earnings or other socioeconomic outcomes. The second limitation is the lack of focus on long-term earnings and the continued reliance on cross-sectional data in an era of increased labor market volatility. The third limitation is the dubious practice of partitioning mobility into structural-mobility versus circulation-mobility and focusing on primarily the latter to make generalizations about the level of opportunity and social fluidity in society. The fourth limitation is the failure of occupational models to discern important empirical trends (such as rising earnings inequality and the Great Gatsby Curve). Most sociologists are now abandoning occupational mobility tables—despite their once great popularity—in favor of economic models which are not encumbered by any of these limitations.

Url: https://paa.confex.com/paa/2017/mediafile/ExtendedAbstract/Paper13385/occupational_mobility_11.pdf

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Authors: Sakamoto, Arthur; Xuanren Wang, Sharron

Publisher: Texas A&M University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

Countries: United States