Male occupational and social mobility in Scotland since the first world war

Abstract

'Social' or 'class' mobility is in practice normally occupational mobility. The occupational dimension, however, has to date received relatively little attention. The thesis explores how occupations and occupational mobility have been treated in three bodies of work: social mobility studies, sociological theories drawing on Marx, and sociological theories of industrial or post-industrial society. This discussion provides a wider context by means of which to understand occupational mobility, while also suggesting new areas in which mobility analysis can throw light on current debates. Scotland is then taken as a case study. A brief economic history and a more detailed account of occupational transition since the First World War lay the groundwork for an investigation of mobility per se. Earlier accounts of mobility - particularly that of Glass - are shown to be inadequate. Detailed examination of mobility rates using data from the 19.75 Scottish Mobility Study involves four main considerations. First, the main patterns are identified, revealing higher rates of intergenerational movement and more 'long-range' mobility than previously expected. The upper middle class in particular displays high levels of inflow and outflow. Second, changing trends in early career mobility over the past 40 years are presented: the trends indicate considerable variation between industrial sectors, and the more recent levelling-off of upward mobility is shown to result largely from the growing dominance of certain service industries in the creation of non-manual employment.-The third area of investigation is the relationship between education and mobility. The generally low level of qualified manpower and the rapid growth of non-manual employment are used to explain the poor association between academic achievement and first occupation until the 1960s. This relates to the final question of career mobility, which is shown to follow the broad pattern of first job mobility. An exploration of ideas about deskilling and labour markets in terms of mobility rates illustrates how an occupational emphasis establishes wider links to sociological theory than one limited to 'social' mobility . The thesis includes two appendices, one dealing with the occupational class schema used in the study, and the other describing the methodology.