Definition
The concept of social mobility refers to the phenomenon of shifting from one social position to another, either in comparison with family background or with previous employment (Social Stratification, Occupational Status, Class Identification, Socioeconomic Status (SES)). The former case, called intergenerational social mobility, studies the transmission of social status from parents to children (Life Chance, Social Justice, Social Inequalities), whereas the latter case, often named intragenerational social mobility or occupational mobility, investigates individuals’ employment history over their life course (Life Course).
Social mobility can be measured in absolute and relative terms (Measurement Methods). Computed directly from mobility tables, absolute social mobility allows for the decomposition of measures such as immobility and mobility rates, vertical (long-range) and non-vertical (short-range) mobility rates, and upward and downward social mobility. In contrast,...
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Joye, D., Falcon, J. (2014). Social Mobility. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2775
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