Practice question · Multiple choice
After 1945 a far larger share of people in western Europe ended up in a higher class than their fathers. Why does that not by itself show that these societies became more open?
Hints
- Ask what changed about the destinations available, independently of anyone’s chances.
- If there is more room at the top, more people arrive there whatever the strength of the origin effect.
Show the answer
B. Expanding managerial jobs let more rise without class origins mattering any less
Why
The shape of the destination distribution changed. When the service class expands and the manual working class contracts, upward movement is forced by arithmetic: somebody has to fill the new positions. Openness is about whether origin still predicts destination once that expansion is accounted for, which is what an odds ratio measures and a headcount does not.
Practise Class, Mobility and Its Myths
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