‘escape from poverty’ and occupations paul lambert, university of stirling

Escape from Poverty and Occupations

Paul Lambert, University of Stirling

Paper presented to the Scottish Social Survey Network, Seminar 7, University of Stirling, 4 June 2009

Survey Network 4 June 2009

Escape from Poverty and OccupationsOr, Occupational disadvantage and its relation to poverty and poverty transitions

Why occupations matter How an occupational approach to measuring poverty could workSome preliminary results {for Scotland}


Some backgroundResearch on stratification, inequality, povertyWhole distribution, cf the most disadvantagedE.g. Poverty as < 50% median; Underclass as lacking assets; etcDirect vs indirect measures of poverty (e.g. Gordon, 2000, 2006) Absolute or relative measurements

Sociology primacy of the occupation

Notion of a latent, underlying, socially embedded occupation as an indirect measure of poverty...?CAMSIS scales: relative social advantage typically associated with incumbents of occupational positions over lifetime (Stewart et al, 1980) Non-working have latent occupations by socially significant links (e.g. household sharing; career; parents) ..this may not be the same as current objective conditions...


1) Why occupations matter

Some claims about occupations: Occupations matter more than other thingsOccupational inequality is mostly one-dimensional Occupational information resources are under-used, and this causes bad science *Quote as highlighted in Coxon and Jones (1978: 10)Nothing stamps a man as much as his occupation. Daily work determines the mode of life.. It constrains our ideas, feelings and tastes (Goblot, 1961)*


(i) Occupations matter more

Gissa job; I can do that

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2007/10/09/boys_from_the_blackstuff_feature.shtml


(i) Occupations matter moreWe behave as if they doDefine our lifestylesDefine structures of social inequality

b) LifestylesA large body of sociological evidence on the social meaning of occupations define friendships, marriage, leisure, consumption, and social reproduction itself (e.g. Devine 2004, Pettinger et al. 2005; Guveli et al. 2007; Archer 2007; Bottero et al. 2009)

A mans work is as good a clue as any to the course of his life and to his social being and identity (Hughes, 1958)


c) Occupations define structures of social inequality Occupations are convenient markers of major social inequalitiesOccupations (division of labour) are the primary driver of the structure of social inequality

Empirical evidence..

Reaffirms economic significance of jobs (McGovern et al, 2007; )Rejects thesis of diminished structural significance of occupations in modern society (Blossfeld et al., 2006) Highlights centrality of occupations in contours of other social divisions (e.g. immigration - Waldinger and Lichter, 2003)


A specially selected table

Source: BHPS 2007, currently employed adults, predictors of smoking (additional controls for age and gender)


[Occupational not geographical inequality cf. Burrows & Crow 2006]


ii) Occupational inequality is mostly one-dimensional


Histograms go here


iii) Occupational information resources are under-used, and this causes bad scienceDetailed occupational data is importante.g. Weeden & Grusky (2005)Handling of detailed occupational data is generally poor Re-coding to simplified categorisationsIgnoring complex data (e.g. careers; gender seg.)

For more and more (and more) on this see www.dames.org.uk Lambert et al (2007)


2) How an occupational approach to measuring poverty could work (part A)

Apparently straightforward decision to make defining a threshold level

..of the average social advantage typically associated with incumbents of the occupational position


All jobs, male scale: threshold=38.51 Occupational unit groups with > 90 in BHPS sampleRemember that these jobs scores are cross-classified by employment status

Female jobs, female scale: threshold = 38.45Occupational unit groups with > 50 females in BHPS sample

2) How an occupational approach to measuring poverty could work (part B)For most individuals, their income and social status is derived directly through their employment; when children, through their parents employment; for some adults, through their partners employment; for retired people, through their and/or their partners work histories (McKnight, 2009: 91)

An occupational approach to measuring poverty would need to address three critical issuesHow to define occupation-based advantage/povertyThe currently non-workingThe weighting of occupations linked to people


A parsimonious cross-sectional strategy..?Modified Household dominance approachUse the most advantaged occupation within the household, prioritising ft work (e.g. Erikson, 1984), and recognising gender of occupation-holderFor students, parental jobs used For those in household without job..Retrospective questions on last main job Parental jobs used for those aged < 30


Valid data on occupations (BHPS wave 17, excluding NI)


No occupational data - BHPS wave 17 (2007)


Correlations between measures, BHPS, w17 individuals. These low correlations reflect people making 1 threshold and not another


Selected correlations with binary poverty indicatorsBHPS wave 17 excluding NI, N=12448


Methodological issues Handling categorical data (on occupations) Scoring occupations: supports standardisation approach for longitudinal data and other comparability issuesCategorisation of occupations: could be harder to establish in terms of relative occupational advantage over time/place

Change over time (escape from poverty) Long term and short term change? Macro-economic shocks?Current measures ignore current situation, such as unemployment

Further occupational measures Average of occupations over the previous career? Average of occupations within household (rather than dominance) Consider weighting occupation score by working status / unemployment?


3) Some preliminary results for Scotland


..preliminary results for Scotland..


(Additional controls for age, gender)


5) Conclusions Escape from social disadvantage and occupationsOccupational measures as feasible indirect indicators of relative poverty/disadvantage for the whole population Reduce demographic/life-stage influence cf. income measuresMeasurement challengesReflecting current circumstances [vulnerability to poverty, Gordon 2006] The concept of povertyImplicitly absolute concept? Implicitly longitudinal (a thing to escape), but is this over-optimistic?What determines social disadvantage/poverty?Disadvantage is more stable than income-based measures showEducation and social background matters more than is recognisedFamily status / demographics matter less


Data sources University of Essex, & Institute for Social and Economic Research. (2009). British Household Panel Survey: Waves 1-17, 1991-2008 [computer file], 5th Edition. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], March 2009, SN 5151.

Minnesota Population Center. (2008). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series - International: Version 4.0. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.Prandy, K., & Bottero, W. (1998). The use of marriage data to measure the social order in nineteenth-century Britain. Sociological Research Online, 3(1), U43-U54.Office for National Statistics. Social and Vital Statistics Division and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Central Survey Unit, Quarterly Labour Force Survey, January - March, 2008 [computer file]. 2nd Edition. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], October 2008. SN: 5851. General Register Office for Scotland, 2001 Census: Standard Area Statistics (Scotland) [computer file]. ESRC/JISC Census Programme, Census Dissemination Unit, Mimas (University of Manchester)


ReferencesArcher, M. S. (2007). Making Our Way Through the World: Human Reflexivity and Social Mobility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Blossfeld, H. P., Mills, M., & Bernardi, F. (Eds.). (2006). Globalization, Uncertainty and Men's Careers: An International Comparison. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Bottero, W., Lambert, P. S., Prandy, K., & McTaggart, S. (2009). Occupational Structures: The Stratification Space of Social Interaction. In K. Robson & C. Sanders (Eds.), Quantifying Theory: Pierre Bourdieu (pp. 141-150). Amsterdam: Springer Netherlands.Burrows, R., & Crow, G. (2006). Geodemographics, Software and Class. Sociology, 40(5), 793-812.Coxon, A. P. M., & Jones, C. L. (1978). The Images of Occupational Prestige: A Study in Social Cognition. London: MacMillan Press.Devine, F. (2004). Class Practices: How parents help their children get good jobs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Erikson, R. (1984). Social Class of Men, Women and Families. Sociology, 18(4), 500-514.Goblot, E. (1961). Class and Occupation. In T. Parsons (Ed.), Theories of Society. New York: Free Press.Gordon, D., Pantazis, C., & Townsend, P. (2000). Absolute and overall poverty: A European history and proposal for measurement. In D. Gordon & P. Townsend (Eds.), Breadline Europe : The measurement of poverty (pp. 79-106). Bristol: The Policy Press.Gordon, D. (2006). The concept and measurement of poverty. In C. Pantazis, D. Gordon & R. Levitas (Eds.), Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain: The Millenium Survey. Bristol: The Policy Press.Guveli, A., Need, A., & De Graaf, N. D. (2007). Socio-political, cultural and economic preferences and behaviour of the social and cultural specialists and the technocrats. Social class or education? . Social Indicators Research, 81(3), 597-631.Hughes, E. C. (1958). Men and their Work. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.Lambert, P. S., Tan, K. L. L., Turner, K. J., Gayle, V., Prandy, K., & Sinnott, R. O. (2007). Data Curation Standards and Social Science Occupational Information Resources. International Journal of Digital Curation, 2(1), 73-91.McGovern, P., Hill, S., Mills, C., & White, M. (2007). Market, Class and Employment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Pettinger, L., Parry, J., Taylor, R., & Glucksmann, M. (Eds.). (2005). A New Sociology of Work? London:: Blackwell.Stewart, A., Prandy, K., & Blackburn, R. M. (1980). Social Stratification and Occupations. London: MacMillan.Tsakloglou, P., & Papadopoulos, F. (2003). Poverty, material deprivation and multi-dimensional disadvantage during four life stages: Evidence from the ECHP. In M. Barnes, C. Heady, S. Middleton, J. Millar, F. Papadopoulos, G. Room & P. Tsakloglou (Eds.), Poverty and Social Exclusion in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Waldinger, R., & Lichter, M. I. (2003). How the Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social Organization of Labor. Berkeley: University of California Press.Weeden, K. A., & Grusky, D. B. (2005). The Case for a New Class Map. American Journal of Sociology, 111(1), 141-212.

‘escape from poverty’ and occupations paul lambert, university of stirling

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