Long term social mobility, Research agenda and a case study: Berlin, 1825-1957

Abstract

A review of sociological and historical research into long term social mobility shows a common set of questions and possible answersn as well as powerful methods to test these hypotheses on widely available historical data. To demonstrate the viability of this historical approach, social mobility and stratificiation in Berlin between 1825 and 1957 were analyzed. The Berlin data corroborate the hypothesis of a gradual growth in the openness of intergenerational mobility patterns more than the hypotheses of no change, or of a one time increase during the early industrialization. For marital mobility no such trend could be shown to exist.