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

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Social Stratification
• Class Analysis

Background:

• Traditional class analysis often overlooks structured biographies and temporal processes.
• Understanding social groupings relies on mobility closure, yet mapping these trajectories is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore intra- and intergenerational mobility patterns in Norway's upper class.
• To quantify class trajectories using temporal processes and multiple forms of capital.
• To investigate internal divisions within the upper class based on parental capital and adult careers.

Main Methods:

• Combined multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and social sequence analysis (SSA).
• Introduced multiple forms of capital to demonstrate varied mobility closure mechanisms.
• Distinguished divergent class careers to highlight different pathways to power.

Main Results:

• Individuals from modest origins often exhibit late or short-term upper-class affiliations.
• Those from capital-rich families are more likely to have stable careers in their originating upper-class fractions.
• Significant divisions exist in upper-class trajectories, linked to parental capital and adult career paths.

Conclusions:

• Parental capital (origin space) influences adult class careers (destination careers) in the Norwegian upper class.
• Early life capital shapes long-term social stratification and class reproduction.
• Class trajectories are not uniform, revealing internal stratification within the upper class.