‘Stratification’ refers to a structure of inequality where individuals occupy differentiated positions that are ranked hierarchically according to broadly recognized standards. Prominent in 20th-century sociology, the term was used by Parsons and his students to explain why individuals in the most functionally important positions in society receive the greatest rewards for their services. In sociology, the most important legacy of stratification research is the cross-national study of intergenerational mobility between occupational categories. Recently, economists have joined sociologists in studying the relationship between increasing inequalities within the labour markets of industrialized countries and rates of intergenerational mobility.
Keywords
- Class
- Inequality
- Intergenerational income mobility
- Parsons, T.
- Mobility
- Social status
- Stratification
JEL Classifications
- D3
- D63
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Stephen L. Morgan
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Morgan, S.L. [2008]. Stratification. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. //doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2290-1