Changing Structures of Inequality : A Comparative Perspective (Comparative Charting of Social Change)

Changing Structures of Inequality examines these questions in a new comparative perspective, covering five national societies - Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The authors offer a deed analysis of country-specific research traditions in the fields of class analysis and social stratification, revealing important conceptual differences which have consequences for the diagnoses. They present the results of substantial compa-rative studies on different aspects of inequality in developed societies - the inequality of income and wealth; educational inequalities; status crystallization; migration and inequality; gender inequality and the structuring effect of social class - highlighting similarities as well as substantial differences between the societies under examination. The authors offer a nuanced con-clusion that puts in perspective the different topics of this contemporary debate. Developed societies are now characterized by more dynamic and pluralistic structures of inequalities, where classes have lost some of their previous importance, but to some extent still have a place. Contributors include Howard M. Bahr, Mathias Bos, Gary Caldwell, Salustiano del Campo, Theodore Caplow, Louis Chauvel, Michel Forse, Wolfgang Glatzer, Richard Huaser, Paul W. Kingston, Denise Lemieux, Laura Maratou-Alipranti, and Marion Mohle.