Have de-industrialization, expanding services and occupational upgrading put an end to class divisions? Drawing on extensive empirical research, this book adds new insights to the debate about the end of class and shows that Western European societies remain decidedly stratified with respect to material advantages and citizenship rights.

Auteur
DANIEL OESCH is Researcher in the Department of Political Science at the University of Geneva, and Consultant of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions in Berne, Switzerland.

Contenu
Introduction PART I: LABOUR MARKET TRENDS AND THE THEORY OF A NEW CLASS SCHEMA Class Theorists and the Debate About the End of Class Three Labour Market Trends and their Impact on the Employment Structure Women, the Manual/Non-Manual Divide and the Working Class Horizontal Divisions Within the Middle Class The Construction Logic of a New Class Schema PART II: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYMENT STRATIFICATION Operationalization of the New Class Schema The Class Structure of Britain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland The Distribution of Advantage Within the Class Schema Structural Divisions Within the Schema: Public Employment and Party Support Collapsed Versions of the Detailed Class Schema PART III: CLASS AND THE CONCEPT OF INSTITUTIONAL EMBEDDEDNESS Introducing Institutions: The Concept of Institutional Embeddedness Class Differences in Pension System Integration Class Differences in Trade Union Membership Class Differences in Political Citizenship and Electoral Participation Cumulative Differences in Institutional Embeddedness Concluding Summary Statistical Annexe