Mobility closure in the upper class: assessing time and forms of capital

Abstract

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.

Revenge of the nerds: Cultural capital and the politics of lifestyle among adolescent elites

“…Previous research has shown that the parental style of the upper and middle classes is distinct from those lower down in the class structure (Aarseth, 2016;Devine, 2004;Lareau, 2011), and that children of upper-class parents rich in cultural capital attain significantly better grades at school than children hailing from other class positions (Andersen and Hansen, 2012;Elstad and Bakken, 2015). Research has also detailed intergenerational social closure of elite positions Hartmann, 2000;Hjellbrekke and Korsnes, 2004;Strømme and Hansen, 2017;Toft, 2018), and a still strong connection between eliteschool attendance and recruitment to elite positions (Reeves et al, 2017). Moreover, researchers have elucidated how certain cultural styles are valued by employers in hiring processes, even though these styles are not directly related to the jobs in question (Rivera, 2012;Sølvberg and Jarness, 2018).…”

Upper-class romance: homogamy at the apex of the class structure

“…The processes through which some groups enjoy privileges and opportunities that are closed off to others, and whether they form closed social and symbolic groups, have been key topics in these streams of research. Recent accounts have focused on a range of processes pertinent to social closure: for instance, how wealth is concentrated and transmitted at the top of the class structure (Hansen 2014); the perpetuation of upper-class privilege through the education system (Strømme and Hansen 2017); intra-and intergenerational mobility closure (Friedman and Laurison 2019;Toft 2019); the structure of elite networks (Larsen and Ellersgaard 2018); and, lifestyle differentiation and symbolic boundaries (Rivera 2012).…”

Family Wealth and the Class Ceiling: The Propulsive Power of The Bank of Mum and Dad

“…Friedman and Laurison (2019), for example, draw on in-depth case studies of a large multinational accountancy firm and a national television broadcaster to argue that patterns of horizontal and particularly vertical segregation (by class background) are commonplace in elite occupations. Similarly, Toft (2019) shows that the socially mobile tend to have much less stable careers when they reach the highest rungs of the occupational hierarchy, arriving later than their privileged colleagues and being less likely to ‘stay up’. However, while these studies show us that class origin is implicated in the overall ‘slope and thrust’ (Bourdieu, 1984: 331) of elite careers, no study to date has looked beyond the mean of income distributions to see whether class ceiling effects exist among the most highly remunerated.…”