Occupational prestige from preference orientations via the Markov Chain: An alternative to respondent ranking techniques

This paper suggests a method of determining occupational prestige structures through simulation of transfer of credit processes involving the Markov Chain. The method required recording present and preferred occupations of a representative sample of employed persons. Following the example of Blau (1956) and Empey (1956) the concept “preferred occupation” is suggested as clearly distinct from occupational choice which has been treated by other researchers (Musgrave 1967; Carol and Parry 1968; Kuvlesky and Bealer 1966; Haller and Sewell 1967; Solcum 1956; and Philband and Gregory 1956). A series of Markov Chain interactions transforms the present-preferred occupation matrix, “controls” for structure limitations on ambitions and social distance, and generates a hierarchical model of occupational prestige structures. This paper examines the methodological and theoretical issues implicit in the measurement of prestige and the establishment of prestige hierarchies, and describes the procedures of the application of the Markov Chain to occupational preference responses. It reports the results of the application of this technique to a pilot sample and compares the resulting hierarchy with those derived from NORC measures and the Duncan socioeconomic index.