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Classless America?: Intergenerational Mobility and Determinants of Class Identification in the United States

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2016, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Sociology.
This paper investigates the relationship between intergenerational mobility and subjective class status, with a specific focus on downward mobility. I propose that downward mobility will be associated with a higher likelihood of reporting a working/lower class status – as opposed to a middle or upper class status – even after accounting for other determinants of class status, such as income and education. Using logistic regression, I analyze the General Social Survey from 1994 – 2014 with a total sample size of just under 9,000 respondents. I find that both perceived downward mobility and objective downward mobility are independently associated with higher probabilities of identifying as lower/working class, with subjective downward mobility demonstrating a consistently stronger association. While subjective upward mobility is associated with a decrease in the log odds of identifying as lower or working class, the association between objective upward mobility and lower/working class status can be largely explained by social and economic factors such as subjective mobility and more traditional predictors of class status like income and education. This study builds on and updates existing research on intergenerational mobility. It applies social mobility research to a new context by studying its effect on subjective class status.
David Maume, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Steven Carlton-Ford, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
35 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Connelly, C. (2016). Classless America?: Intergenerational Mobility and Determinants of Class Identification in the United States [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479815137608335

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Connelly, Chloe. Classless America?: Intergenerational Mobility and Determinants of Class Identification in the United States. 2016. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479815137608335.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Connelly, Chloe. "Classless America?: Intergenerational Mobility and Determinants of Class Identification in the United States." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1479815137608335

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)