Industrialization and the Regime of Social Mobility in Postwar Japan

Abstract  This paper examines the hypothesis that the fluidity and openness of social stratification increase with industrialization, by applying a path analysis of status attainment and a log-linear analysis of social mobility to data from National Survey on Social Stratification and Mobility carried out five times at ten-year intervals since 1955 in Japan. The following two points are clarified through this analysis. First, the status attainment regime was constant from 1955 to 1995; when the effects of opportunity expansion due to economic growth are controlled, the data do not provide evidence that the openness of social stratification improved; and the industrialism thesis on openness is actually an illusion caused by the effects of economic growth. Second, the mobility regime was constant from 1955 to 1985, but the data from the 1995 survey do not fit the previous pattern and suggest a transformation may be under way. Based on the above findings, I will note that dissolution of the mobility regime must be considered when discussing the reality of future social stratification.     

Socioeconomic Status and Mental Illness in Japan*

Abstract Since the pioneering work of Faris and Dunham (1938), a number of studies in the United States have documented an inverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental illness both at the aggregate and the individual levels, and both for the treated and the general population. However, there are few studies of whether this relationship holds in other countries. This study examines socioeconomic characteristics and mental illness in Japan, which has a very different social stratification system from that of the United States. It was found that, at the aggregate level, the “inverse” association between socioeconomic characteristics and the rate of treated mental illness does not hold in Japan. Instead, the relationship is curvilinear: mental illness is higher in districts with large numbers of blue collar and upper white collar workers than in districts with large numbers of lower white collar workers. The effect of SES on mental illness operates through economic stress embedded in the macro social context. Because different social structures lead to different patterns of economic stress, the inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health cannot be assumed to hold in all countries.     

Trends in gender stratification, 1970–1985

This paper addresses causes and consequences of sociological interest in gender stratification after 1970. The most recent women's movement spurred empirical research on the topic but development of a general theory was slowed by accidents of disciplinary history. A theory of preindustrial gender stratification that leans on anthropology is therefore used to interpret trends that occur during industrialization. This analysis helps to explain why trends in mortality, education, fertility, women's labor force participation, and men's household participation should continue to improve women's status relative to the status of men.     

Status Inconsistency and Participation in Social Movements: an Application of Goodman's Hierarchical Modeling*

Goodman's hierarchical modeling is used to analyze the status inconsistency configuration of 67 active participants in an anti-pornography social movement and 44 persons who actively opposed the movement. The substantive results indicated the need to interpret status inconsistency effects in light of the second-order interaction of all three stratification variables—education, occupation and income. We found that inconsistencies between two of the stratification dimensions changed the association between the third dimension and participation in a social movement in the positive direction. A modification of the over-rewarded/under-rewarded inconsistency hypothesis was advanced as a special case of the general finding. The methodological results indicate that the Goodman hierarchical modeling technique is a promising system for establishing empirical linkages between significance testing and substantive interpretations with regard to the area of status inconsistency.     

Differential Status Evaluations and Racial Bias in the Chilean Segregated School System

Although there is growing interest in studying the long‐ignored relationship between stratification and race in Chile, racial bias in person perception remains unknown. We hypothesize that the segregation of the Chilean school system generated a prestige order in which pupils are differentiated by status characteristics according to the type of school they attend, and that these evaluations are based on racial traits. To test this hypothesis, we study whether facial appearance is sufficient to impute the type of school a pupil is attending, and whether these categorizations evoke different status evaluations of wealth and morality based on race. Results confirm that participants’ perceptions of facial appearance allow them to situate pupils in the Chilean social structure. Faces categorized as studying at different types of schools varied in their perceived wealth. However, the relationship between moral traits and types of schools was weak. We also found evidence of racial bias in the participants’ perceptions of pupils’ faces: faces categorized as enrolled in municipal schools (low status) were judged with Amerindian or mestizo racial traits, while faces categorized as attending private fee‐paying schools (high status) were judged with white racial traits. We did not find a relationship between race and morality.     

Private time and public time: the temporal structure of social accessibility and professional commitments

This paper highlights the temporal aspects of social accessibility, demonstrating that time is a major dimension of social organization along which both privacy and professional commitments are defined in modern society. An analysis of the temporal structure of professional commitments within the domain of health care, leads to the claim that the temporally rigid way in which most professional commitments are defined today is one of the key characteristics of modern social organization. A general conceptual scheme, constructed around the temporal structure of social accessibility, is evaluated in terms of its use in helping us identify and differentiate various occupational roles as well as various status rankings within stratification systems. The symbolic significance of the temporal organization of social accessibility is stressed-both in general, and for professional commitments in particular.     

Professor of Sociology at Tokyo Gakugei University.

Abstract  In this paper I discuss methods of integrating women into social stratification studies. Traditional stratification studies have focused only on the male "heads" of households. While considering this problem within a conceptual framework of theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence, I would like to review some of the earlier work in this area.
I propose to differentiate social stratification into "occupational stratification" and "consumption stratification" in order to facilitate the integration of women into these studies. I shall use data from a nationwide survey to show how and why the traditional male head-of-household approach is inappropriate in determining the social stratification of households.
Rather than considering the occupation of the male head of the household, I use the concept of "substantive complexity of work" to compare paid work with housework. If a married woman is working outside the home, I define her occupation as that which scores higher in this comparison.
I also suggest that we further subcategorize consumption stratification. Finally, I propose integrating the suggestions made in this paper with the status inconsistency approach to social stratification.     

Substitution and Stratification: The Interplay between Dyadic and Systemic Proximity in Global Trade, 1993–2005

This article examines the interplay of homophily (similarity breeds connection) at two levels in international trade—dyadic similarity (geographic, political, and cultural proximity) and systemic similarity (structural equivalence and world‐system status). First, there is a substitution effect between dyadic homophily and systemic homophily from structural equivalence. Both types of homophily generate favorable social structure that facilitates international trade. The existence of structural equivalence lessens the dependence of bilateral trade on dyadic homophily. Second, there is a stratification effect of world‐system status on dyadic homophily. Geographic homophily matters the most for bilateral trade between two noncore countries, while political and cultural homophily is the most influential for trade between a core country and a noncore country. These two findings have important implications. The substitution effect of structural equivalence prevents international trade from complete fragmentation along geographic, political, and cultural lines, while the stratification effect of world‐system status reveals unequal capacity across countries to overcome the structural constraints imposed by dyadic homophily.     

Status Distinctions in Interaction: Social Selection and Exclusion at an Elite Nightclub

Although social status plays a crucial role in the generation and maintenance of social inequalities, how status processes operate in naturalistic social contexts remains less clear. In the following article, I provide a case study of doormen—individuals who simultaneously represent status experts and status judges—at a highly exclusive nightclub to investigate how people draw status distinctions in micro-social settings. Using interview and ethnographic data, I analyze on what bases doormen evaluate the relative worth of patrons and confer the status prize of admission. I find that in making such decisions, doormen drew from a constellation of competence and esteem cues, which were informed by contextually specific status schemas about the relative material, moral, and symbolic worth of particular client groups. Moreover, the ways in which doormen used these cues and schema depended on the identity of the specific patron being evaluated. As such, I argue that processes of interpersonal evaluation and status conferral are contextually specific, culturally embedded, and interpersonally variable. Despite such variations, a patron’s perceived social connections seemed to outweigh other types of cues in admissions decisions. I conclude by discussing these findings in light of both status characteristics theory and Bourdieu’s work on the transubstantiation of capital to suggest that social capital is a powerful status cue that can, under certain conditions, be a more potent source of social distinction and status advantage, or hold a greater conversion value, in systems of stratification than other types of qualities.     

Class and status: on the misconstrual of the conceptual distinction and a neo‐Bourdieusian alternative

In this article, we address the classical debate about the relationship between the economic and cultural aspects of social stratification, typically cast in terms of Weber’s distinction between class and status. We discuss in particular Chan and Goldthorpe’s influential, yet largely unchallenged, attempt to reinstate a strict version of the class‐status distinction, mounted as an attack on ‘Bourdieusian’ accounts. We argue that this is unconvincing in two respects: There are fundamental problems with their conceptualization of status, producing a peculiar account where one expression of status honour explains the other; in addition, their portrayal of the Bourdieusian approach as one‐dimensional is highly questionable. In contradiction of a reading of Bourdieu as discarding the class‐status distinction, we develop an alternative, neo‐Bourdieusian account that recognizes class and status as distinct aspects of stratification, thereby allowing for a subtle analysis of their empirical entwinement. The fruitfulness of this approach is demonstrated by analysing the homology between the space of lifestyles and the social space through Multiple Correspondence Analysis of unusually rich data about lifestyles. Importantly, we highlight the relative autonomy of these spaces: Although they exhibit a similar structure, they do not overlap completely.     

Adjustment of immigrants in Canada: methodological possibilities and its implications

Progress in research on the adaptation of immigrants depends on the resolution of both its methodological and empirical aspects. Adaptation can be defined in operational terms as "partaking in the life of the country productively and to one's advantage." The society to which immigrants need to adapt is usually highly developed. Factors that influence immigrants' adaptation are 1) demographic factors, 2) economic factors, 3) social factors, 4) the immigration policy of the country of destination, and 5) the motives for immigration combined with information on the country of destination. 3 models analyze the socioeconomic adaption of immigrants: 1) the assimilation model (the period of immigration is the most important determinant of immigrants' adjustment); 2) the ethnic stratification model (status at entry to the receiving country differs for different ethnic groups); 3) the structural differences model (demographic, economic, and social characteristics of immigrants interact and may influence the adaptation process). The author examines the adjustment process of immigrants to Canada on the assumption that the age of immigrants at the moment of arrival in Canada plays the most important role in adaptation. The following are factors in the adaptation process in order of importance: 1) person's age at the moment of arrival (PAMA) in Canada, 2) duration of residence in Canada, and 3) membership in an ethnic group. The immigrant population is stratified by cohorts defined according to these factors. The author divides nonimmigrant cohorts into 4 stages: 1) exploration (age 24 and under), 2) stabilization (age 25-44), 3) mature (45-59), and 4) reconciliation stage (age 60 and over). He further defines 6 cohorts of immigrants: 1) preschool and school population (early exploration stage, 0-16); 2) vocational training, university, and 1st stage of family formation (terminal period of exploration stage, age 17-24); 3) prime family formation period and 1st stage of work experience (1st period of professional stabilization stage, age 25-34); 4) terminal period of family and household formation and prime period of professional stabilization (2nd period of professional stabilization stage, age 35-44); 5) older worker population (mature stage, age 45-59); 6) workers before retirement and elderly population (reconciliation stage in professional life, age 60 and over). By defining immigrant subpopulations using both the PAMA and "ethnicity" factors as the criteria, one can examine the roots of the observed variation across subpopulations from both structural and cultural points of view.     

Modernization and the Status of the Aged in China: Decline or Equalization?*

Most models of modernization propose that the status of the aged declines with technological and economic development. These models usually conceptualize the lowered status of the aged as a residual or latent consequence of modernization. Rarely do they address age stratification as a political issue, and they fail to differentiate between subgroups of the aged. We compare accounts of the cultural and structural context of the aged before and after China's socialist revolution, giving particular attention to the role of the family, the state, and technological factors in social change. Technological development and urbanization have not been extensive, and a decline in the traditional authority of the aged has paralleled educational advances and a demographic transition. Government family policies and China's labor-intensive economy facilitate the interdependence of age groups and sex roles. These observations suggest current models of the status of the aged should be revised to incorporate conceptualizations of age and sexual stratification and the role of governmental policies in directing social change.     

SYMBOLS AND CONTEXTS: An Interactionist Approach to the Study of Social Status

This article proposes an interactionist framework for the study of status stratification. This framework returns the focus of status research to how status works, especially emphasizing the symbolic and contextual aspects integral to the concept. By closely examining how status is indicated, how it is employed, and how it is maintained or changed over time, an interactionist approach provides an explanation on how status affects both individual and organizational behavior—an explanation that is currently lacking in status research. In addition, the development of this framework provides an argument against critics of interactionism who question whether this perspective can contribute to the study of social stratification. This article makes evident that status stratification, with its intimate ties to the symbols and contexts, proves to be an area of study ideally suited to the interactionist perspective.     

Stratification and prestige among elite experts in methodological and mathematical sociology circa 1975

This discussion has two purposes. One is to describe the social differentiation of experts within an élite invisible college devoted to methodological and mathematical work circa 1975. The other is to illustrate the positional approach in network analysis. After introducing the invisible college to be considered, the form of stratification within it is described. Although completely interconnected to one another, experts are stratified across five structurally unique statuses. The form of stratification is given greater empirical meaning by considering its content. There is a subtle linkage between the extent to which a status is defined by substantive and methodological influence relations. The most prominent experts have merged their methodological concerns with specific substantive concerns. The most prestigious status is occupied by a “social statistics élite” to whom a “mobility élite” exists as a satellite status. Methodology leaders among social psychologists divide into a group pursuing the study of three-person groups, a “triads élite”, and a group with more general interests, a “social psychology élite”. Finally, a “mathematical sociology élite” jointly define no status since they have highly dissimilar substantive relations with one another and other experts. The last question addressed concerns the distribution of prestige in the college. As would be expected under a norm of universalism, the relative prestige of experts within the college is uniquely determined only by an expert's record of publishing in the college's core journals. The discussion concludes with comments.     

Individual Reactions to Organizational Conflict and Change*

When familiar organizational relationships are drastically changed, it is important to know what factors influence individuals in their attempts to re-establish stable work associations for themselves. In the situation described here, an organizational division (which was not administratively planned) made it necessary for individuals to decide whether to remain in their original jobs, move to a similar new organization created by a splinter group, or leave altogether. Eight hypotheses are tested which examine the effects of three sets of influences on individual decisions: psychological influences (job satisfaction, job tension); relational influences (social rewards, social costs, status consistency); and extra-organizational influences (marital status, professional committment, community involvement). Of the variables examined, the strongest influence is attributed to attempts by individuals to preserve their rewarding social exchanges with other members. The implications of these findings for social exchange theory are emphasized.     

What cultural hierarchy? Cultural tastes,status and inequality

Research on cultural stratification often draws on Bourdieu's misrecognition model to interpret socioeconomic gradients in cultural tastes and participation. In this model, an assumed cultural hierarchy leads individuals to adopt cultural tastes and behaviours whose status is congruent with that of their socioeconomic position (SEP). Yet, this assumed cultural hierarchy remains opaque. In this paper, we derive and test three empirical implications of the cultural hierarchy: (1) cultural activities have different status (recognition); (2) individuals in high and low SEPs have similar perceptions of the status of cultural activities (necessary condition for misrecognition); and (3) individuals prefer and engage in cultural activities whose status matches that of their SEP (status congruence). We collected survey data in Denmark and find that cultural activities differ in terms of perceived status (e.g., opera has higher perceived status than flea market), status perceptions are similar in high- and low-SEP groups and individuals prefer activities whose status matches that of their SEP. These results are consistent with the idea that a cultural hierarchy exists that sustains SEP gradients in cultural tastes and participation.     

Social Stratification and the Division of Household Labor in Japan: The Effect of Wives' Work on the Division of Labor among Dual-earner Families

Abstract:  This article explores the relationship between social stratification and the division of household labor by examining how the contribution to housework by husbands in dual-earner families varies across the Japanese social stratification structure. First, I review previous studies concerning the determinants of husbands' participation in housework and construct four hypotheses regarding the relative resources explanation, the time constraints explanation, the ideology/sex role explanation, and the alternative manpower explanation. Second, I examine the empirical support for these hypotheses in dual-earner couples and the effect of social stratification on husband's participation in housework, which has not been studied thus far. Third, I investigate the effect of social stratification in more detail. According to the results of TOBIT regressions and other supplementary analyses, the principal findings are as follows:

• 1) 

  the relative resources explanation is not supported;

       
  
  

Market and non-market effects on male and female occupational status attainment

Nous étudions dans cet article le processus ?acquisition de statut social, au regard de quatre approches sur le marché du travail: 1/ le chômage structural; 2/ les cycles économiques; 3/ la théorie des files ?attente et 4/ la théorie de la segmentation. Les implications de ces perspectives sont évaluées au moyen ?un modèle ?acquisition de statut qui comporte trois dimensions: temps, antécédents socio-économiques, sexe. Notre échantillon est composé?individus qui ont obtenu laur premier emploi à temps plein entre 1961 et 1972. Les résultats de ?analyse sont en accord avec les perspectives du chômage structurel et de la théorie de la segmentation, alors que ?accord n'est que partiel avec la perspective du cycle des affaires. Et on peut conclure dans un sens ni dans ?autre en ce qui a trait à la théorie de la file ?attente. De plus, nous montrons que les caractéristiques des individus (surtout les femmes) étudiés varient dans le temps, et que ceci doit être pris en compte si ?on veut comprendre la stratification et ?acquisition de statut social dans les sociétés complexes. The paper examines the status attainment process in relation to four labour market perspectives: 1/ structural unemployment; 2/ the business cycle; 3/ queuing theory; and 4/ segmentation theory. We evaluate their implications by developing a status attainment model which varies along three dimensions - time, socio-economic background and sex -and by testing the model on a heterogeneous sample of individuals who entered their first full-time job between 1961 and 1972. The results support our structural unemployment and segmentation-theoretic hypotheses, are partially supportive of our business cycle hypothesis and are ambiguous with respect to our queuing hypothesis. The discussion relates various labour market trends over the 1961–72 period to the status attainment process. In addition, we emphasize that the characteristics of individuals (particularly of women) entering into their first full-time job are time-dependent, and that this has implications for the understanding of status attainment and social stratification processes in complex societies.