Abstract:We investigate the recruitment into the upper class, analysing the impact of different forms of capital and modes of closure. Unlike many Bourdieu-influenced approaches to class, we systematically investigate divisions by composition of capital: the relative weight of economic to cultural capital. We find capital-specific barriers to mobility: Access to the upper classes is not only differentiated by one's parents' volume of capital or the general class hierarchy, but also by the relative weight of cultural to economic capital. Drawing on theories of social closure, we further investigate the role of two distinct modes of closure -credentialism and private property. The degree of closure differs significantly between subfractions of the upper class, based on the degree to which they refer to positions involving specific credential requirements. Our findings underline the importance of capital composition, but also that closure operates by neither credentials nor property alone. In the present paper, we push this line of research further by analysing how inherited economic and cultural capital are shaping recruitment to upper class fractions, and how these intersect with educational credentialization and private property as two distinct modes of closure (Parkin 1979, Murphy 1988.We see class divisions as manifested in the distribution of forms of capital (Savage, Warde, and Devine 2005). While it is widely recognized that economic, cultural and social resources are of great significance for understanding how class 'works' (Goldthorpe, Llewellyn, and Payne 1987:99, Khan 2012), it is with Bourdieu's perspective that they come to be seen as the most 'determinant property' of social class (Bourdieu 1984:106, see the discussion in Flemmen 2013). But unlike recent attempts at applying Bourdieu's ideas in class analysis, like the GBCS, we operationalize the class structure as two-dimensional, shaped by both the total amount of capital, but also the composition of this capital -the relative weight of economic to cultural capital (see Flemmen et al. forthcoming). We therefore distinguish four main hierarchical levels of the class structure -working class, lower middle class, upper 4/34 middle class and upper class. We then differentiate the upper and middle groups into fractions by the type of capital, so that each is split into a cultural-capital fraction, an economic-capital fraction and a fraction with a balanced mix.While most approaches to social stratification emphasize the significance of education, class analysis stresses the role of private property (Flemmen 2013): Marxians see class as anchored in relations of production (Wright 2005), whereas Weberians see the divide between the propertied and the property-less as the basic fault line in the class structure (Breen 2005).But education or property should not be an either/or choice, so we move beyond this dichotomy by drawing on theories of social closure: 'In modern capitalist society the two main exclusionary devices by which the bourgeoisie construct...

Most understandings of the ways classes become social groupings centre on processes of mobility closure whereby mutual appreciation and recognition within classes arise from homogenous experiences over time. The mapping of such structured biographies, however, remains understudied. This paper explores intra- and intergenerational mobility patterns in the upper strata of the Norwegian class structure and aims to include temporal processes and multiple forms of capital in the quantification of class trajectories. By combining multiple correspondence analysis and social sequence analysis, two important but often neglected aspects of recruitment to the upper class are emphasized: first, by introducing multiple forms of capital, different ways of maintaining mobility closure are demonstrated; second, different pathways to power are highlighted by distinguishing between divergent class careers. A key aim of the analysis is to explore internal divisions within the upper class in forms of parental capital (an 'origin space') and link these divisions to a typology of 'destination careers' in adulthood. The analysis suggests that individuals from modest origins are more likely to have careers that feature a biographically late arrival and/or short-term affiliations to upper-class positions whereas individuals from families rich in capital are more likely to have stable careers in the upper-class fractions from which they originate. The analysis thus reveals important divisions in the trajectories of Norwegians who reach the upper class; not only are there differences in their upbringing in terms of the availability of different amounts and types of capital but such divisions also seem linked to their own class careers later in adulthood.

Class analysts are often concerned with intergenerational transmission of advantage, mapping the ways in which parental resources foster favourable life-chances for their offspring. However, whether such class-specific resources are accessible to broader communities has scarcely been researched within a framework of class mobility. By combining methodological insights from neighbourhood research with theoretical concerns of class advantage, this study addresses the ways in which the social class composition of adolescent neighbourhoods affects individual educational achievement and class positions in adult life. Marginal logistic regression analyses, using generalised estimating equations, are utilised to analyse the complete birth cohorts of 1965–1967 who grew up in Oslo. The analyses reveal that upper class presence in adolescent neighbourhoods is independently associated with attainment of higher education, elite credentials, and upper class membership in adulthood, and more so for less privileged teenagers. It is suggested that the linkage of class advantage and geographical anchorage should be maintained in further research as it points to important aspects of urban inequality.

This paper explores a much theorized but rarely empirically investigated temporal component to the structuring of life chances at the apex of the class structure. By following 21 complete birth cohorts, I utilise sequence analysis and systematically explore pathways that lead to the Norwegian upper class during ten years of adulthood. Separate analyses of each cohort map these trajectories at different stages of adult life and wide cross-cohort similarities are found. The analysis reveals that durable access is differentiated from long-range vertical mobility and a stepping stone function of middle class attachment. Trajectories are also shown to be highly capital-specific, thereby indicating that capital conversion within social space rarely traverses horizontal divisions. I argue that elite research and class analysis would benefit from approaching questions of processes of group formation in a manner that entails a systematic account of temporality while acknowledging the class structure in a multidimensional way.

Although the Scandinavian countries are often considered to epitomize social democratic governance, Scandinavia’s profound wealth inequalities, seen in relation to the more modest income differences, constitutes a fascinating paradox. Drawing on class theoretical concerns with strategies for reproduction and a Bourdieusian emphasis on class fractions, we explore how class-origin wealth gaps evolved over the past 25 years in Norway, and how they compare to class-origin income gaps. First, we find that class-origin wealth gaps have increased in recent years, whereas income inequalities are fairly persistent among men, and increasing among women. We find that educational attainment is important for channeling income inequality, but that education is less important for understanding wealth gaps. Second, we document differences between people whose family contexts were most highly endowed with economic capital and those who grew up in families that were engaged in cultural fields or the professions. Finally, we highlight how analyses based solely on net worth neglect important ways class origin perpetuates and accelerates wealth inequalities via the acquisition of debt. We argue that recent decades have fostered new instruments for opportunity hoarding that are most successfully used by the sons and daughters of the economic upper class.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Cover: Hanne Baadsgaard Utigard. Print production: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo. I am indebted to my two supervisors-Marianne Nordli Hansen and Johs. Hjellbrekke-for their invaluable help over the course of these past years. Not only have they read and re-read countless drafts and provided prompt and insightful remarks, but they have also always done so in a manner that has never made me lose faith in my own project or doubt their encouragement with regard to my pursuit of sociology. In addition to having massive respect for their sociological knowledge, I find them both to be particularly inclusive and generous in their supervision. By including me in research seminars, international workshops and networks, they have invited me to partake in a larger field of like-minded sociologists. For this invitation and so much more, I am very grateful.

In this article we demonstrate that those from working-class backgrounds face a powerful ‘class ceiling’ in elite occupations. Examining how class origin shapes economic returns in the Norwegian upper class (3.8% of the population), we first find that the income advantage enjoyed by those from privileged backgrounds increases sharply as they ascend the income distribution in both elite business and cultural fields. Second, we show that those from economically upper-class backgrounds enjoy the highest pay advantage in all upper-class destinations. Finally, we demonstrate the profound propulsive power provided by parental wealth. Our results indicate that this is the most important single driver of the class-origin income gap in virtually every area of the Norwegian upper class. These findings move forward an emerging literature on class-origin pay gaps beyond mean estimates to reveal the distinct ‘pay-off’ to class privilege in the very highest income-earning positions.

This article focuses on social closure by way of marital homogamy within the upper class. It offers new insights into the social structuring of romantic partnerships, while drawing on research on assortative mating and contemporary elite and class analysis. The analysis is based on detailed data covering the entire Norwegian population. Our main point of focus is the upper class, whose patterns of partner choice have been little studied. By drawing on Bourdieu's model of the social space, we move beyond conventional operationalisations of class. The analysis demonstrates that romantic partnerships within the upper class are structured along three dimensions of class: (i) vertical inter-class closure (upper-class individuals are disproportionately more likely to have partners in upper-class positions); (ii) horizontal intra-class closure (a tendency for marrying within the same upperclass fraction); (iii) closure by class trajectory (upwardly mobile newcomers are disproportionately more unlikely to have upper-class partners). We also demonstrate how class divisions intersect with gender divisions. Among the men, there are important differences between the upper-class fractions: the cultural fraction is more homogamous than the other fractions, and the economic fraction is comparatively more likely to have partners from lower down in the class structure.