Introduction: In epidemiological studies, cross-tabulations are a simple but important tool for understanding the distribution of socio-demographic characteristics among study participants. Hence, the picture of a rigid German social structure should be reconsidered. In contrast to previous studies, my results indicate high social fluidity and no changes in relative mobility over time. I therefore conclude that there are no cohort trends in absolute or relative intergenerational mobility in West Germany, implying that it is not on its way to becoming a society of downward mobility. However, I do not find any cohort trends in absolute mobility rates and do not detect any changes in social fluidity patterns. Compared to previous studies, I observe significantly higher rates of downward mobility.
Therefore, I analyze the occupational data of 7,416 38- to 42-year-olds born between 19 belonging to the sixth starting cohort of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Using this operationalization, I aim to answer the question of how far intergenerational mobility patterns have changed over time in West Germany. Based on this measurement I calculate absolute and relative intergenerational mobility patterns.
In order to estimate social mobility patterns net of occupational upgrading, I propose an operationalization involving administrative data to measure social positions by applying a percentile approach. Many studies on social mobility use operationalizations of social positions that do not take occupational upgrading into account.
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