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.