Relative mobility in Germany and the U.S.

Abstract

One of the most noteworthy results of the foregoing study of absolute mobility was that the change in social origins, class destinations and absolute intergenerational mobility followed similar patterns in both countries under study. The unique possibility of studying social mobility from a comparative perspective over the longue durée revealed that although differences between the United States and Germany are observable, the trends in each country evolved in parallel. This is of course no historical accident but the outcome of similar economic, political and social developments that took place in Germany and the United States over most of the 20^th century and similarly shaped the opportunity structure for mobility.