We examine the relational model of inequality using samples of employer-employee matched data from manufacturing plants in the United States and Japan. We argue that gender is a salient status characteristic in both the United States and Japan, but because of differences in gender politics, wage inequality will vary more across U.S. workplaces…

This article extends previous work on family structure and children's education by conceptualizing migration as a distinct form of family disruption that reduces parental input but brings substantial economic benefits through remittances. It examines the multiple and countervailing effects of migration on schooling in the context of substantial…

Using unique data on employers' pre-hire preferences, this article examines the effect of sex typing on the gender gap in offered wages and training. Previous studies using post-hire data have not been able to focus directly on the effects of employer behavior, distinct from employee preferences. By analyzing gender-designated job requisitions for…

In this article we use comparative micro data for 15 European countries covering the period 1992-2007 to study the impact of labor market reforms on the skill-related individual risk of holding a temporary contract and the risk of being unemployed. Our results indicate no general increase in either of these skill gaps. Using two-step multilevel…

Modernization theory argues that, as societies industrialize and further develop, the influence of social background and other ascribed characteristics on educational and socioeconomic outcomes declines, while achievement in the education system becomes more important. The purpose of this research is to investigate propositions derived from…

Focusing on post-Soviet Ukraine, this paper examines how social transformations changed family formation, leading to the world's lowest fertility rate. The findings show that before Ukraine gained independence, highly educated women had higher first birth rates after controlling for school enrollment and marriage. After independence, highly…

Many social movement researchers question the usefulness of political opportunity as a concept. However, others argue that it can be refined by disaggregating different opportunities for actors and outcomes to understand the underlying mechanisms that influence each. This research extends this analysis by asking "political opportunity for…

One of the defining characteristics of the late 20th and early 21st centuries is the increasing importance of international migration, an epoch Castles and Miller term the "age of migration." The precise size of the international migrant population is unknown. Much of this movement--such as unauthorized and other irregular flows--is not…

This paper examines the patterns of entry into self-employment in urban and rural China and across different reform stages, focusing on how communist cadres have responded to new market opportunities. Analysis of data from a national representative survey shows that both education and cadre status deter people from entry into self-employment in…

Among 1,359 Swedish professionals surveyed, women had only 68% of the supervisory positions that men had, and only 77% of earnings. Although gender differences in human capital and structural resources partly explained the gaps, the major explanatory factor was occupational segregation. However, men's advantage persisted even when occupation and…

This paper compares men's career opportunities and intra-generational class mobility across periods with markedly different development strategies in Mexico. Despite its significance for social stratification and inequality in Mexico, research on mobility has been relatively scant in recent decades. Using data from the National Retrospective…