Changing Classes

This study aims to provide the key to understanding the new class structure of post-industrial societies with their changing processes of social stratification and mobility. The treatment is interdisciplinary, connecting issues of welfare, stratification and political economy. The contributors draw together comparative research on the dynamics of social stratification in several advanced societies to develop a framework for the analysis of post-industrial class formation. The central importance of the institutional bases of individual countries - welfare states, labour markets and education systems - for understanding social stratification is demonstrated. The interface between welfare state and household and between gender and class is shown to be critically significant. Individual case studies of Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, UK and USA examine the differing application of these ideas in individual welfare states. This text is intended for students and academics in sociology and comparative politics, professionals, academics and students in politics, social policy and social welfare.