Assessing the determinants of intragenerational social mobility across occupational trajectories in Southern Europe : Catalonia (1880s-1950s)
Brea-Martínez, Gabriel (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya)
Pujadas-Mora, Joana Maria 1977- (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics)
Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics

Data:	2025
Resum:	This article assesses the determinants of intragenerational social mobility across occupational trajectories in Southern Europe, focusing on Catalonia (1880s-1950s). Using a novel longitudinal database of individuals born 1870-1909 in the Baix Llobregat area, we examine sibling correlations in occupational status as a proxy for family socioeconomic resemblance and trace career progression across early, mid-, and late-career stages. Framing the analysis within modernization debates on structural and exchange mobility, we test four hypotheses addressing the evolution of family influence across career stages, cohort differences tied to industrialization, class-based inequalities in career advancement, and the role of family type (stem versus nuclear) and impartible inheritance. Employing multilevel modeling, we disentangle absolute changes driven by occupational restructuring from relative persistence attributable to family background. Results show that sibling correlations are strongest at career entry and generally decline over the life course, particularly among occupations associated with industrial expansion, partially confirming the hypothesis of diminishing familial influence. Cohort analysis reveals greater intragenerational upward mobility for younger cohorts (1890-1909) who matured amid consolidated industrialization, consistent with increased absolute mobility. Nevertheless, fathers' higher occupational status remained a robust predictor of career progression, signalling persistent class-based advantages and constrained relative mobility. Contrary to classical expectations, the persistence of stem-family arrangements and the practice of impartible inheritance did not systematically intensify family resemblance in occupational trajectories. By combining rich longitudinal microdata with life-course modeling, this study advances understanding of how industrialization, family systems, and class structures jointly shaped intragenerational mobility in the Southern European context. Findings contribute to debates on modernization theory and highlight the need for research integrating education, migration, and gendered labor histories.
Ajuts:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-128010OB-I00
Nota:	Altres ajuts: VR(2021-01578) and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)(2021-01409)
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Publicat a:	The History of the Family, October 2025, p. 1-29, ISSN 1873-5398

DOI: 10.1080/1081602X.2025.2573376

31 p, 3.0 MB

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Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències socials i jurídiques > Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED-CERCA)
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