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LIFECOURSE OF THE SOCIAL MOBILITY PARADIGM 215

(Brückner and Mayer, 2005). DiPrete (see paradigm, which mainly asked, in three
DiPrete and McManus, 2001) has turned to successive ‘generations’ of research under-
income as a better representation of the long- takings, whether societies were equally fluid
term socio-economic position of individuals and whether such fluidity was progressing
in this age of employment volatility. He has with modernization. The mobility table was
introduced new factors in international com- much used at first, and then fell into some
parisons besides occupational history, such disrepute as multivariate status attainment
as family disruptions and welfare regimes. models, featuring education variables, held
He has also contributed to the development increasing sway. But mobility tables drew
of the crucial notion of cumulative advantage attention again with the availability of more
(DiPrete and Eirich, 2006). Leisering (2002) powerful modelling tools and datasets; the
has analyzed the interplay of government and qualitative categories ceased, however, to serve
the lifecourse, paying attention to welfare as the basis for interpretations of class experi-
careers as well as employment careers. ences. As to the third element in Sorokin’s per-
Hout, in collaboration with Beller and spective, the role of a multiplicity of diverse
Hout (2006), has examined how cross- institutions in sorting individuals into social
national differences in the association positions, it was more or less abandoned by
between origins and destinations correspond mainstream scientific work in the field.
to differences in both welfare regime type More recently, however, a new paradigm
and access to post-secondary education. has arguably become more important. One
Breen (2004) has led an effort to systemati- key factor had been the neglect of such
cally compare social fluidity in eight phenomena as increasingly volatile careers,
European countries whose policies are quite complex institutional arrangements in educa-
different; he has focused on the situation of tional systems, the changing role and even
young people (Breen, 2002), as well as on nature of families, now often characterized by
the interplay between social origins, family dual careers and instability (with attendant
structures and events, the characteristics of consequences on economic positions), the
educational systems, and social destinations influence of welfare regimes (which inter-
(Breen and Jonsson, 2005). He and his col- vene in very different ways to help individu-
leagues found a declining association als and families control their trajectories), or
between class origins and educational attain- even the role of health as a mediating factor
ment in many countries, and raised questions in the reproduction and transmission of social
about which sets of welfare and educational inequality. In this context, a growing number
institutional arrangements, besides the social of researchers are turning to the notion of the
democratic ones, can bring about this simi- lifecourse as a possible way to organize these
larity in achievements. He has also addressed new research findings and to shape the future
(with Cooke, 2005) the issue of the persist- in this field of sociology. And of course, the
ence of the gendered division of domestic field has kept its international comparative
labour. tradition, which should serve it well as the
interplay of individual trajectories and
diverse institutional arrangements in various
countries is further explored.
CONCLUDING REMARKS

We have proposed a reading of the evolution
of the field of social mobility in terms of NOTES
evolving paradigms. Sorokin’s seminal
research launched the field on many promis- 1 Among others, see for the oldest ones Bendix and
ing avenues. Some of his intuitions were Lipset (1953), Lipset and Bendix (1959), Miller (1960),
found at the core of the original social mobility or Pease et al. (1970) and for more recent ones