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Structural Change Shapes Career Mobility Opportunities: An Analysis of Cohorts, Gender and Parental Class

Author

Listed:
  • Dirk Witteveen

    (University of Oxford and Nuffield College, UK)

  • Johan Westerman

    (Stockholm University, Sweden)

Abstract

Research suggests that structural change drives occupational mobility in high-income countries over time, but two partially competing theories explain how such change occurs. One suggests that younger cohorts replace older ones through higher education, and the second suggests that individuals adapt to structural change by switching from declining to new or growing occupations during their careers. A proposed occupational scheme aligns with the two dimensions of structural change – skill upgrading on the vertical axis of occupational differentiation, increasing demand for data comprehension (i.e. high skill) and primary tasks concerning either people or things on the horizontal axis. Applied to career trajectories in the Swedish labour market, sequence analyses of the scheme suggest stability in attainment of career mobility types over time between consecutive birth cohorts, and considerable evidence for within-career manoeuvring. Analyses address heterogeneity along parental class and gender.

Suggested Citation

  • Dirk Witteveen & Johan Westerman, 2023. "Structural Change Shapes Career Mobility Opportunities: An Analysis of Cohorts, Gender and Parental Class," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(1), pages 97-116, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:1:p:97-116
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170211044305
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    References listed on IDEAS

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