SOC1305 WEEK 4 DISCUSSION

9 Social Stratification
in the United States

Figure 9.1 This house, formerly owned by the famous television producer, Aaron Spelling, was for a time listed for $150 million dollars. It is
considered one of the most extravagant homes in the United States, and is a testament to the wealth generated in some industries. (Photo courtesy of
Atwater Village Newbie/flickr)

Learning Objectives
9.1. What Is Social Stratification?

• Differentiate between open and closed stratification systems

• Distinguish between caste and class systems

• Understand meritocracy as an ideal system of stratification

9.2. Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States
• Understand the U.S. class structure

• Describe several types of social mobility

• Recognize characteristics that define and identify class

9.3. Global Stratification and Inequality
• Define global stratification

• Describe different sociological models for understanding global stratification

• Understand how studies of global stratification identify worldwide inequalities

9.4. Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
• Understand and apply functionalist, conflict theory, and interactionist perspectives on social stratification

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 183

Introduction to Social Stratification in the United States
Aaron grew up on a farm in rural Ohio, left home to serve in the Army, and returned a few years later to take over the
family farm. He moved into the same house he had grown up in and soon married a young woman with whom he had
attended high school. As they began to have children, they quickly realized that the income from the farm was no longer
sufficient to meet their needs. Aaron, with little experience beyond the farm, accepted a job as a clerk at a local grocery
store. It was there that his life and the lives of his wife and children were changed forever.

One of the managers at the store liked Aaron, his attitude, and his work ethic. He took Aaron under his wing and began to
groom him for advancement at the store. Aaron rose through the ranks with ease. Then the manager encouraged him to
take a few classes at a local college. This was the first time Aaron had seriously thought about college. Could he be
successful, Aaron wondered? Could he actually be the first one in his family to earn a degree? Fortunately, his wife also
believed in him and supported his decision to take his first class. Aaron asked his wife and his manager to keep his college
enrollment a secret. He did not want others to know about it in case he failed.

Aaron was nervous on his first day of class. He was older than the other students, and he had never considered himself
college material. Through hard work and determination, however, he did very well in the class. While he still doubted
himself, he enrolled in another class. Again, he performed very well. As his doubt began to fade, he started to take more
and more classes. Before he knew it, he was walking across the stage to receive a Bachelor’s degree with honors. The
ceremony seemed surreal to Aaron. He couldn’t believe he had finished college, which once seemed like an impossible
feat.

Shortly after graduation, Aaron was admitted into a graduate program at a well-respected university where he earned a
Master’s degree. He had not only become the first from his family to attend college but also he had earned a graduate
degree. Inspired by Aaron’s success, his wife enrolled at a technical college, obtained a degree in nursing, and became a
registered nurse working in a local hospital’s labor and delivery department. Aaron and his wife both worked their way up
the career ladder in their respective fields and became leaders in their organizations. They epitomized the American
Dream—they worked hard and it paid off.

This story may sound familiar. After all, nearly one in three first-year college students is a first-generation degree
candidate, and it is well documented that many are not as successful as Aaron. According to the Center for Student
Opportunity, a national nonprofit, 89 percent of first-generation students will not earn an undergraduate degree within six
years of starting their studies. In fact, these students “drop out of college at four times the rate of peers whose parents have
postsecondary degrees” (Center for Student Opportunity quoted in Huot 2014).

Why do students with parents who have completed college tend to graduate more often than those students whose parents
do not hold degrees? That question and many others will be answered as we explore social stratification.

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?

Figure 9.2 In the upper echelons of the working world, people with the most power reach the top. These people make the decisions and earn the
most money. The majority of Americans will never see the view from the top. (Photo courtesy of Alex Proimos/flickr)

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Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a
society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race,
education, and power.

You may remember the word “stratification” from geology class. The distinct vertical layers found in rock, called
stratification, are a good way to visualize social structure. Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are
distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources represent the top layer of the social
structure of stratification. Other groups of people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers
of our society.

Figure 9.3 Strata in rock illustrate social stratification. People are sorted, or layered, into social categories. Many factors determine a person’s
social standing, such as income, education, occupation, as well as age, race, gender, and even physical abilities. (Photo courtesy of Just a Prairie Boy/
flickr)

In the United States, people like to believe everyone has an equal chance at success. To a certain extent, Aaron illustrates
the belief that hard work and talent—not prejudicial treatment or societal values—determine social rank. This emphasis on
self-effort perpetuates the belief that people control their own social standing.

However, sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While
there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns. Stratification is not
about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and the like. No
individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities. The structure of society affects a person’s social standing.
Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social stratification is created and supported by society as a whole.

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Figure 9.4 The people who live in these houses most likely share similar levels of income and education. Neighborhoods often house people of
the same social standing. Wealthy families do not typically live next door to poorer families, though this varies depending on the particular city and
country. (Photo courtesy of Orin Zebest/flickr)

Factors that define stratification vary in different societies. In most societies, stratification is an economic system, based on
wealth, the net value of money and assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages or investment dividends. While
people are regularly categorized based on how rich or poor they are, other important factors influence social standing. For
example, in some cultures, wisdom and charisma are valued, and people who have them are revered more than those who
don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural
beliefs often reinforce the inequalities of stratification.

One key determinant of social standing is the social standing of our parents. Parents tend to pass their social position on to
their children. People inherit not only social standing but also the cultural norms that accompany a certain lifestyle. They
share these with a network of friends and family members. Social standing becomes a comfort zone, a familiar lifestyle,
and an identity. This is one of the reasons first-generation college students do not fare as well as other students.

Other determinants are found in a society’s occupational structure. Teachers, for example, often have high levels of
education but receive relatively low pay. Many believe that teaching is a noble profession, so teachers should do their jobs
for love of their profession and the good of their students—not for money. Yet no successful executive or entrepreneur
would embrace that attitude in the business world, where profits are valued as a driving force. Cultural attitudes and
beliefs like these support and perpetuate social inequalities.

Recent Economic Changes and U.S. Stratification
As a result of the Great Recession that rocked our nation’s economy in the last few years, many families and individuals
found themselves struggling like never before. The nation fell into a period of prolonged and exceptionally high
unemployment. While no one was completely insulated from the recession, perhaps those in the lower classes felt the
impact most profoundly. Before the recession, many were living paycheck to paycheck or even had been living
comfortably. As the recession hit, they were often among the first to lose their jobs. Unable to find replacement
employment, they faced more than loss of income. Their homes were foreclosed, their cars were repossessed, and their
ability to afford healthcare was taken away. This put many in the position of deciding whether to put food on the table or
fill a needed prescription.

While we’re not completely out of the woods economically, there are several signs that we’re on the road to recovery.
Many of those who suffered during the recession are back to work and are busy rebuilding their lives. The Affordable
Health Care Act has provided health insurance to millions who lost or never had it.

But the Great Recession, like the Great Depression, has changed social attitudes. Where once it was important to
demonstrate wealth by wearing expensive clothing items like Calvin Klein shirts and Louis Vuitton shoes, now there’s a
new, thriftier way of thinking. In many circles, it has become hip to be frugal. It’s no longer about how much we spend,
but about how much we don’t spend. Think of shows like Extreme Couponing on TLC and songs like Macklemore’s
“Thrift Shop.”

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Systems of Stratification
Sociologists distinguish between two types of systems of stratification. Closed systems accommodate little change in
social position. They do not allow people to shift levels and do not permit social relationships between levels. Open
systems, which are based on achievement, allow movement and interaction between layers and classes. Different systems
reflect, emphasize, and foster certain cultural values and shape individual beliefs. Stratification systems include class
systems and caste systems, as well as meritocracy.

The Caste System

Figure 9.5 India used to have a rigid caste system. The people in the lowest caste suffered from extreme poverty and were shunned by society.
Some aspects of India’s defunct caste system remain socially relevant. In this photo, an Indian woman of a specific Hindu caste works in construction,
and she demolishes and builds houses. (Photo courtesy of Elessar/flickr)

Caste systems are closed stratification systems in which people can do little or nothing to change their social standing. A
caste system is one in which people are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives. People are
assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. There are virtually no opportunities to improve a
person’s social position.

In the Hindu caste tradition, people were expected to work in the occupation of their caste and to enter into marriage
according to their caste. Accepting this social standing was considered a moral duty. Cultural values reinforced the system.
Caste systems promote beliefs in fate, destiny, and the will of a higher power, rather than promoting individual freedom as
a value. A person who lived in a caste society was socialized to accept his or her social standing.

Although the caste system in India has been officially dismantled, its residual presence in Indian society is deeply
embedded. In rural areas, aspects of the tradition are more likely to remain, while urban centers show less evidence of this
past. In India’s larger cities, people now have more opportunities to choose their own career paths and marriage partners.
As a global center of employment, corporations have introduced merit-based hiring and employment to the nation.

The Class System

A class system is based on both social factors and individual achievement. A class consists of a set of people who share
similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems
are open. People are free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents. They can also socialize
with and marry members of other classes, which allows people to move from one class to another.

In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth. Though family and other societal models help guide a person toward a
career, personal choice plays a role.

In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages, unions of spouses from different social
categories. Marriage in these circumstances is based on values such as love and compatibility rather than on social
standing or economics. Though social conformities still exist that encourage people to choose partners within their own
class, people are not as pressured to choose marriage partners based solely on those elements. Marriage to a partner from
the same social background is an endogamous union.

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Making Connections: Social Policy & Debate

Meritocracy

Meritocracy is an ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit—that
determines social standing. High levels of effort will lead to a high social position, and vice versa. The concept of
meritocracy is an ideal—because a society has never existed where social rank was based purely on merit. Because of the
complex structure of societies, processes like socialization, and the realities of economic systems, social standing is
influenced by multiple factors—not merit alone. Inheritance and pressure to conform to norms, for instance, disrupt the
notion of a pure meritocracy. While a meritocracy has never existed, sociologists see aspects of meritocracies in modern
societies when they study the role of academic and job performance and the systems in place for evaluating and rewarding
achievement in these areas.

Status Consistency
Social stratification systems determine social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation.
Sociologists use the term status consistency to describe the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across
these factors. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency, whereas the more flexible class system has lower status
consistency.

To illustrate, let’s consider Susan. Susan earned her high school degree but did not go to college. That factor is a trait of
the lower-middle class. She began doing landscaping work, which, as manual labor, is also a trait of lower-middle class or
even lower class. However, over time, Susan started her own company. She hired employees. She won larger contracts.
She became a business owner and earned a lot of money. Those traits represent the upper-middle class. There are
inconsistencies between Susan’s educational level, her occupation, and her income. In a class system, a person can work
hard and have little education and still be in middle or upper class, whereas in a caste system that would not be possible. In
a class system, low status consistency correlates with having more choices and opportunities.

The Commoner Who Could Be Queen

Figure 9.6 Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is in line to be king of England, married Catherine Middleton, a so-called commoner,
meaning she does not have royal ancestry. (Photo courtesy of UK_repsome/flickr)

On April 29, 2011, in London, England, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, married Catherine Middleton, a
commoner. It is rare, though not unheard of, for a member of the British royal family to marry a commoner. Kate
Middleton has an upper-class background, but does not have royal ancestry. Her father was a former flight dispatcher
and her mother a former flight attendant and owner of Party Pieces. According to Grace Wong’s 2011 article titled,
“Kate Middleton: A family business that built a princess,” “[t]he business grew to the point where [her father] quit his
job . . . and it’s evolved from a mom-and-pop outfit run out of a shed . . . into a venture operated out of three
converted farm buildings in Berkshire.” Kate and William met when they were both students at the University of St.
Andrews in Scotland (Köhler 2010).

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Britain’s monarchy arose during the Middle Ages. Its social hierarchy placed royalty at the top and commoners on the
bottom. This was generally a closed system, with people born into positions of nobility. Wealth was passed from
generation to generation through primogeniture, a law stating that all property would be inherited by the firstborn
son. If the family had no son, the land went to the next closest male relation. Women could not inherit property, and
their social standing was primarily determined through marriage.

The arrival of the Industrial Revolution changed Britain’s social structure. Commoners moved to cities, got jobs, and
made better livings. Gradually, people found new opportunities to increase their wealth and power. Today, the
government is a constitutional monarchy with the prime minister and other ministers elected to their positions, and
with the royal family’s role being largely ceremonial. The long-ago differences between nobility and commoners
have blurred, and the modern class system in Britain is similar to that of the United States (McKee 1996).

Today, the royal family still commands wealth, power, and a great deal of attention. When Queen Elizabeth II retires
or passes away, Prince Charles will be first in line to ascend the throne. If he abdicates (chooses not to become king)
or dies, the position will go to Prince William. If that happens, Kate Middleton will be called Queen Catherine and
hold the position of queen consort. She will be one of the few queens in history to have earned a college degree
(Marquand 2011).

There is a great deal of social pressure on her not only to behave as a royal but also to bear children. In fact, Kate and
Prince William welcomed their first son, Prince George, on July 22, 2013 and are expecting their second child. The
royal family recently changed its succession laws to allow daughters, not just sons, to ascend the throne. Kate’s
experience—from commoner to potential queen—demonstrates the fluidity of social position in modern society.

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United
States
Most sociologists define social class as a grouping based on similar social factors like wealth, income, education, and
occupation. These factors affect how much power and prestige a person has. Social stratification reflects an unequal
distribution of resources. In most cases, having more money means having more power or more opportunities.
Stratification can also result from physical and intellectual traits. Categories that affect social standing include family
ancestry, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. In the United States, standing can also be defined by characteristics such as IQ,
athletic abilities, appearance, personal skills, and achievements.

Standard of Living
In the last century, the United States has seen a steady rise in its standard of living, the level of wealth available to a
certain socioeconomic class in order to acquire the material necessities and comforts to maintain its lifestyle. The standard
of living is based on factors such as income, employment, class, poverty rates, and housing affordability. Because standard
of living is closely related to quality of life, it can represent factors such as the ability to afford a home, own a car, and take
vacations.

In the United States, a small portion of the population has the means to the highest standard of living. A Federal Reserve
Bank study shows that a mere one percent of the population holds one-third of our nation’s wealth (Kennickell 2009).
Wealthy people receive the most schooling, have better health, and consume the most goods and services. Wealthy people
also wield decision-making power. Many people think of the United States as a “middle-class society.” They think a few
people are rich, a few are poor, and most are fairly well off, existing in the middle of the social strata. But as the study
mentioned above indicates, there is not an even distribution of wealth. Millions of women and men struggle to pay rent,
buy food, find work, and afford basic medical care. Women who are single heads of household tend to have a lower
income and lower standard of living than their married or male counterparts. This is a worldwide phenomenon known as
the “feminization of poverty”—which acknowledges that women disproportionately make up the majority of individuals
in poverty across the globe.

In the United States, as in most high-income nations, social stratifications and standards of living are in part based on
occupation (Lin and Xie 1988). Aside from the obvious impact that income has on someone’s standard of living,
occupations also influence social standing through the relative levels of prestige they afford. Employment in medicine,
law, or engineering confers high status. Teachers and police officers are generally respected, though not considered
particularly prestigious. At the other end of the scale, some of the lowest rankings apply to positions like waitress, janitor,
and bus driver.

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The most significant threat to the relatively high standard of living we’re accustomed to in the United States is the decline
of the middle class. The size, income, and wealth of the middle class have all been declining since the 1970s. This is
occurring at a time when corporate profits have increased more than 141 percent, and CEO pay has risen by more than 298
percent (Popken 2007).

G. William Domhoff, of the University of California at Santa Cruz, reports that “In 2010, the top 1% of households (the
upper class) owned 35.4% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business
stratum) had 53.5%, which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 89%, leaving only 11% of the wealth
for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers)” (Domhoff 2013).

While several economic factors can be improved in the United States (inequitable distribution of income and wealth,
feminization of poverty, stagnant wages for most workers while executive pay and profits soar, declining middle class), we
are fortunate that the poverty experienced here is most often relative poverty and not absolute poverty. Whereas absolute
poverty is deprivation so severe that it puts survival in jeopardy, relative poverty is not having the means to live the
lifestyle of the average person in your country.

As a wealthy developed country, the United States has the resources to provide the basic necessities to those in need
through a series of federal and state social welfare programs. The best-known of these programs is likely the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. (This used
to be known as the food stamp program.)

The program began in the Great Depression, when unmarketable or surplus food was distributed to the hungry. It was not
until 1961 that President John F. Kennedy initiated a food stamp pilot program. His successor Lyndon B. Johnson was
instrumental in the passage of the Food Stamp Act in 1964. In 1965, more than 500,000 individuals received food
assistance. In March 2008, on the precipice of the Great Recession, participation hovered around 28 million people.
During the recession, that number escalated to more than 40 million (USDA).

Social Classes in the United States

Figure 9.7 Does taste or fashion sense indicate class? Is there any way to tell if this young man comes from an upper-, middle-, or lower-class
background? (Photo courtesy of Kelly Bailey/flickr)

Does a person’s appearance indicate class? Can you tell a man’s education level based on his clothing? Do you know a
woman’s income by the car she drives?

For sociologists, categorizing class is a fluid science. Sociologists generally identify three levels of class in the United
States: upper, middle, and lower class. Within each class, there are many subcategories. Wealth is the most significant way
of distinguishing classes, because wealth can be transferred to one’s children and perpetuate the class structure. One
economist, J.D. Foster, defines the 20 percent of U.S. citizens’ highest earners as “upper income,” and the lower 20
percent as “lower income.” The remaining 60 percent of the population make up the middle class. But by that distinction,
annual household incomes for the middle class range between $25,000 and $100,000 (Mason and Sullivan 2010).

One sociological perspective distinguishes the classes, in part, according to their relative power and control over their
lives. The upper class not only have power and control over their own lives but also their social status gives them power
and control over others’ lives. The middle class doesn’t generally control other strata of society, but its members do exert
control over their own lives. In contrast, the lower class has little control over their work or lives. Below, we will explore
the major divisions of U.S. social class and their key subcategories.

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Upper Class

Figure 9.8 Members of the upper class can afford to live, work, and play in exclusive places designed for luxury and comfort. (Photo courtesy of
PrimeImageMedia.com/flickr)

The upper class is considered the top, and only the powerful elite get to see the view from there. In the United States,
people with extreme wealth make up 1 percent of the population, and they own one-third of the country’s wealth
(Beeghley 2008).

Money provides not just access to material goods, but also access to a lot of power. As corporate leaders, members of the
upper class make decisions that affect the job status of millions of people. As media owners, they influence the collective
identity of the nation. They run the major network television stations, radio broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, publishing
houses, and sports franchises. As board members of the most influential colleges and universities, they influence cultural
attitudes and values. As philanthropists, they establish foundations to support social causes they believe in. As campaign
contributors, they sway politicians and fund campaigns, sometimes to protect their own economic interests.

U.S. society has historically distinguished between “old money” (inherited wealth passed from one generation to the next)
and “new money” (wealth you have earned and built yourself). While both types may have equal net worth, they have
traditionally held different social standings. People of old money, firmly situated in the upper class for generations, have
held high prestige. Their families have socialized them to know the customs, norms, and expectations that come with
wealth. Often, the very wealthy don’t work for wages. Some study business or become lawyers in order to manage the
family fortune. Others, such as Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, capitalize on being a rich socialite and transform that
into celebrity status, flaunting a wealthy lifestyle.

However, new-money members of the upper class are not oriented to the customs and mores of the elite. They haven’t
gone to the most exclusive schools. They have not established old-money social ties. People with new money might flaunt
their wealth, buying sports cars and mansions, but they might still exhibit behaviors attributed to the middle and lower
classes.

The Middle Class

Figure 9.9 These members of a club likely consider themselves middle class. (Photo courtesy of United Way Canada-Centraide Canada/flickr)

Many people consider themselves middle class, but there are differing ideas about what that means. People with annual
incomes of $150,000 call themselves middle class, as do people who annually earn $30,000. That helps explain why, in the
United States, the middle class is broken into upper and lower subcategories.

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Upper-middle-class people tend to hold bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees. They’ve studied subjects such as business,
management, law, or medicine. Lower-middle-class members hold bachelor’s degrees from four-year colleges or
associate’s degrees from two-year community or technical colleges.

Comfort is a key concept to the middle class. Middle-class people work hard and live fairly comfortable lives. Upper-
middle-class people tend to pursue careers that earn comfortable incomes. They provide their families with large homes
and nice cars. They may go skiing or boating on vacation. Their children receive high-quality education and healthcare
(Gilbert 2010).

In the lower middle class, people hold jobs supervised by members of the upper middle class. They fill technical, lower-
level management or administrative support positions. Compared to lower-class work, lower-middle-class jobs carry more
prestige and come with slightly higher paychecks. With these incomes, people can afford a decent, mainstream lifestyle,
but they struggle to maintain it. They generally don’t have enough income to build significant savings. In addition, their
grip on class status is more precarious than in the upper tiers of the class system. When budgets are tight, lower-middle-
class people are often the ones to lose their jobs.

The Lower Class

Figure 9.10 This man is a custodian at a restaurant. His job, which is crucial to the business, is considered lower class. (Photo courtesy of
Frederick Md Publicity/flickr)

The lower class is also referred to as the working class. Just like the middle and upper classes, the lower class can be
divided into subsets: the working class, the working poor, and the underclass. Compared to the lower middle class, lower-
class people have less of an educational background and earn smaller incomes. They work jobs that require little prior skill
or experience and often do routine tasks under close supervision.

Working-class people, the highest subcategory of the lower class, often land decent jobs in fields like custodial or food
service. The work is hands-on and often physically demanding, such as landscaping, cooking, cleaning, or building.

Beneath the working class is the working poor. Like the working class, they have unskilled, low-paying employment.
However, their jobs rarely offer benefits such as healthcare or retirement planning, and their positions are often seasonal or
temporary. They work as sharecroppers, migrant farm workers, housecleaners, and day laborers. Some are high school
dropouts. Some are illiterate, unable to read job ads.

How can people work full-time and still be poor? Even working full-time, millions of the working poor earn incomes too
meager to support a family. Minimum wage varies from state to state, but in many states it is approaching $8.00 per hour
(Department of Labor 2014). At that rate, working 40 hours a week earns $320. That comes to $16,640 a year, before tax
and deductions. Even for a single person, the pay is low. A married couple with children will have a hard time covering
expenses.

The underclass is the United States’ lowest tier. Members of the underclass live mainly in inner cities. Many are
unemployed or underemployed. Those who do hold jobs typically perform menial tasks for little pay. Some of the
underclass are homeless. For many, welfare systems provide a much-needed support through food assistance, medical
care, housing, and the like.

Social Mobility
Social mobility refers to the ability to change positions within a social stratification system. When people improve or
diminish their economic status in a way that affects social class, they experience social mobility.

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Making Connections: Sociological Research

Individuals can experience upward or downward social mobility for a variety of reasons. Upward mobility refers to an
increase—or upward shift—in social class. In the United States, people applaud the rags-to-riches achievements of
celebrities like Jennifer Lopez or Michael Jordan. Bestselling author Stephen King worked as a janitor prior to being
published. Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty in rural Mississippi before becoming a powerful media personality. There
are many stories of people rising from modest beginnings to fame and fortune. But the truth is that relative to the overall
population, the number of people who rise from poverty to wealth is very small. Still, upward mobility is not only about
becoming rich and famous. In the United States, people who earn a college degree, get a job promotion, or marry someone
with a good income may move up socially. In contrast, downward mobility indicates a lowering of one’s social class.
Some people move downward because of business setbacks, unemployment, or illness. Dropping out of school, losing a
job, or getting a divorce may result in a loss of income or status and, therefore, downward social mobility.

It is not uncommon for different generations of a family to belong to varying social classes. This is known as
intergenerational mobility. For example, an upper-class executive may have parents who belonged to the middle class. In
turn, those parents may have been raised in the lower class. Patterns of intergenerational mobility can reflect long-term
societal changes.

Similarly, intragenerational mobility describes a difference in social class that between different members of the same
generation. For example, the wealth and prestige experienced by one person may be quite different from that of his or her
siblings.

Structural mobility happens when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class
ladder. Structural mobility is attributable to changes in society as a whole, not individual changes. In the first half of the
twentieth century, industrialization expanded the U.S. economy, raising the standard of living and leading to upward
structural mobility. In today’s work economy, the recent recession and the outsourcing of jobs overseas have contributed to
high unemployment rates. Many people have experienced economic setbacks, creating a wave of downward structural
mobility.

When analyzing the trends and movements in social mobility, sociologists consider all modes of mobility. Scholars
recognize that mobility is not as common or easy to achieve as many people think. In fact, some consider social mobility a
myth.

Class Traits
Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class. Class traits
indicate the level of exposure a person has to a wide range of cultures. Class traits also indicate the amount of resources a
person has to spend on items like hobbies, vacations, and leisure activities.

People may associate the upper class with enjoyment of costly, refined, or highly cultivated tastes—expensive clothing,
luxury cars, high-end fund-raisers, and opulent vacations. People may also believe that the middle and lower classes are
more likely to enjoy camping, fishing, or hunting, shopping at large retailers, and participating in community activities.
While these descriptions may identify class traits, they may also simply be stereotypes. Moreover, just as class distinctions
have blurred in recent decades, so too have class traits. A very wealthy person may enjoy bowling as much as opera. A
factory worker could be a skilled French cook. A billionaire might dress in ripped jeans, and a low-income student might
own designer shoes.

Turn-of-the-Century “Social Problem Novels”:
Sociological Gold Mines
Class distinctions were sharper in the nineteenth century and earlier, in part because people easily accepted them. The
ideology of social order made class structure seem natural, right, and just.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, U.S. and British novelists played a role in changing public
perception. They published novels in which characters struggled to survive against a merciless class system. These
dissenting authors used gender and morality to question the class system and expose its inequalities. They protested
the suffering of urbanization and industrialization, drawing attention to these issues.

These “social problem novels,” sometimes called Victorian realism, forced middle-class readers into an
uncomfortable position: they had to question and challenge the natural order of social class.

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 193

For speaking out so strongly about the social issues of class, authors were both praised and criticized. Most authors
did not want to dissolve the class system. They wanted to bring about an awareness that would improve conditions
for the lower classes, while maintaining their own higher class positions (DeVine 2005).

Soon, middle-class readers were not their only audience. In 1870, Forster’s Elementary Education Act required all
children ages five through twelve in England and Wales to attend school. The act increased literacy levels among the
urban poor, causing a rise in sales of cheap newspapers and magazines. The increasing number of people who rode
public transit systems created a demand for “railway literature,” as it was called (Williams 1984). These reading
materials are credited with the move toward democratization in England. By 1900 the British middle class had
established a rigid definition for itself, and England’s working class also began to self-identify and demand a better
way of life.

Many of the novels of that era are seen as sociological goldmines. They are studied as existing sources because they
detail the customs and mores of the upper, middle, and lower classes of that period in history.

Examples of “social problem” novels include Charles Dickens’s The Adventures of Oliver Twist (1838), which
shocked readers with its brutal portrayal of the realities of poverty, vice, and crime. Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the
d’Urbervilles (1891) was considered revolutionary by critics for its depiction of working-class women (DeVine
2005), and U.S. novelist Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (1900) portrayed an accurate and detailed description of
early Chicago.

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality

(a)

(b)

Figure 9.11 A family lives in this grass hut in Ethiopia. Another family lives in a single-wide trailer in the trailer park in the United States. Both
families are considered poor, or lower class. With such differences in global stratification, what constitutes poverty? (Photo (a) courtesy of Canned
Muffins/flickr; Photo (b) courtesy of Herb Neufeld/flickr)

Global stratification compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries across the world. Global
stratification highlights worldwide patterns of social inequality.

In the early years of civilization, hunter-gatherer and agrarian societies lived off the earth and rarely interacted with other
societies. When explorers began traveling, societies began trading goods, as well as ideas and customs.

In the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented wealth in Western Europe and North America.
Due to mechanical inventions and new means of production, people began working in factories—not only men, but
women and children as well. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, industrial technology had gradually
raised the standard of living for many people in the United States and Europe.

The Industrial Revolution also saw the rise of vast inequalities between countries that were industrialized and those that
were not. As some nations embraced technology and saw increased wealth and goods, others maintained their ways; as the
gap widened, the nonindustrialized nations fell further behind. Some social researchers, such as Walt Rostow, suggest that
the disparity also resulted from power differences. Applying a conflict theory perspective, he asserts that industrializing
nations took advantage of the resources of traditional nations. As industrialized nations became rich, other nations became
poor (Rostow 1960).

Sociologists studying global stratification analyze economic comparisons between nations. Income, purchasing power, and
wealth are used to calculate global stratification. Global stratification also compares the quality of life that a country’s
population can have.

Poverty levels have been shown to vary greatly. The poor in wealthy countries like the United States or Europe are much
better off than the poor in less-industrialized countries such as Mali or India. In 2002, the UN implemented the

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Making Connections: Big Picturethe

Millennium Project, an attempt to cut poverty worldwide by the year 2015. To reach the project’s goal, planners in 2006
estimated that industrialized nations must set aside 0.7 percent of their gross national income—the total value of the
nation’s good and service, plus or minus income received from and sent to other nations—to aid in developing countries
(Landler and Sanger, 2009; Millennium Project 2006).

Models of Global Stratification

Figure 9.12 Luxury vacation resorts can contribute to a poorer country’s economy. This one, in Jamaica, attracts middle and upper-middle class
people from wealthier nations. The resort is a source of income and provides jobs for local people. Just outside its borders, however, are poverty-
stricken neighborhoods. (Photo courtesy of gailf548/flickr)

Various models of global stratification all have one thing in common: they rank countries according to their relative
economic status, or gross national product (GNP). Traditional models, now considered outdated, used labels to describe
the stratification of the different areas of the world. Simply put, they were named “first world, “second world,” and “third
world.” First and second world described industrialized nations, while third world referred to “undeveloped” countries
(Henslin 2004). When researching existing historical sources, you may still encounter these terms, and even today people
still refer to some nations as the “third world.”

Another model separates countries into two groups: more developed and less developed. More-developed nations have
higher wealth, such as Canada, Japan, and Australia. Less-developed nations have less wealth to distribute among higher
populations, including many countries in central Africa, South America, and some island nations.

Yet another system of global classification defines countries based on the per capita gross domestic product (GDP), a
country’s average national wealth per person. The GDP is calculated (usually annually) one of two ways: by totaling either
the income of all citizens or the value of all goods and services produced in the country during the year. It also includes
government spending. Because the GDP indicates a country’s productivity and performance, comparing GDP rates helps
establish a country’s economic health in relation to other countries.

The figures also establish a country’s standard of living. According to this analysis, a GDP standard of a middle-income
nation represents a global average. In low-income countries, most people are poor relative to people in other countries.
Citizens have little access to amenities such as electricity, plumbing, and clean water. People in low-income countries are
not guaranteed education, and many are illiterate. The life expectancy of citizens is lower than in high-income countries.

The Big Picture: Calculating Global Stratification
A few organizations take on the job of comparing the wealth of nations. The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) is
one of them. Besides a focus on population data, the PRB publishes an annual report that measures the relative

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 195

economic well-being of all the world’s countries. It’s called the Gross National Income (GNI) and Purchasing Power
Parity (PPP).

The GNI measures the current value of goods and services produced by a country. The PPP measures the relative
power a country has to purchase those same goods and services. So, GNI refers to productive output and PPP refers
to buying power. The total figure is divided by the number of residents living in a country to establish the average
income of a resident of that country.

Because costs of goods and services vary from one country to the next, the GNI PPP converts figures into a relative
international unit. Calculating GNI PPP figures helps researchers accurately compare countries’ standard of living.
They allow the United Nations and Population Reference Bureau to compare and rank the wealth of all countries and
consider international stratification issues (nationsonline.org).

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
Basketball is one of the highest-paying professional sports. There is stratification even among teams. For example, the
Minnesota Timberwolves hand out the lowest annual payroll, while the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly pay the highest.
Kobe Bryant, a Lakers shooting guard, is one of the highest paid athletes in the NBA, earning around $30.5 million a year
(Forbes 2014). Even within specific fields, layers are stratified and members are ranked.

In sociology, even an issue such as NBA salaries can be seen from various points of view. Functionalists will examine the
purpose of such high salaries, while conflict theorists will study the exorbitant salaries as an unfair distribution of money.
Social stratification takes on new meanings when it is examined from different sociological perspectives—functionalism,
conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

Functionalism
In sociology, the functionalist perspective examines how society’s parts operate. According to functionalism, different
aspects of society exist because they serve a needed purpose. What is the function of social stratification?

In 1945, sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore published the Davis-Moore thesis, which argued that the greater
the functional importance of a social role, the greater must be the reward. The theory posits that social stratification
represents the inherently unequal value of different work. Certain tasks in society are more valuable than others. Qualified
people who fill those positions must be rewarded more than others.

According to Davis and Moore, a firefighter’s job is more important than, for instance, a grocery store cashier’s. The
cashier position does not require the same skill and training level as firefighting. Without the incentive of higher pay and
better benefits, why would someone be willing to rush into burning buildings? If pay levels were the same, the firefighter
might as well work as a grocery store cashier. Davis and Moore believed that rewarding more important work with higher
levels of income, prestige, and power encourages people to work harder and longer.

Davis and Moore stated that, in most cases, the degree of skill required for a job determines that job’s importance. They
also stated that the more skill required for a job, the fewer qualified people there would be to do that job. Certain jobs,
such as cleaning hallways or answering phones, do not require much skill. The employees don’t need a college degree.
Other work, like designing a highway system or delivering a baby, requires immense skill.

In 1953, Melvin Tumin countered the Davis-Moore thesis in “Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis.”
Tumin questioned what determined a job’s degree of importance. The Davis-Moore thesis does not explain, he argued,
why a media personality with little education, skill, or talent becomes famous and rich on a reality show or a campaign
trail. The thesis also does not explain inequalities in the education system or inequalities due to race or gender. Tumin
believed social stratification prevented qualified people from attempting to fill roles (Tumin 1953). For example, an
underprivileged youth has less chance of becoming a scientist, no matter how smart she is, because of the relative lack of
opportunity available to her. The Davis-Moore thesis also does not explain why a basketball player earns millions of
dollars a year when a doctor who saves lives, a soldier who fights for others’ rights, and a teacher who helps form the
minds of tomorrow will likely not make millions over the course of their careers.

The Davis-Moore thesis, though open for debate, was an early attempt to explain why stratification exists. The thesis states
that social stratification is necessary to promote excellence, productivity, and efficiency, thus giving people something to
strive for. Davis and Moore believed that the system serves society as a whole because it allows everyone to benefit to a
certain extent.

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Conflict Theory

Figure 9.13 These people are protesting a decision made by Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, to lay off custodians
and outsource the jobs to a private firm to avoid paying employee benefits. Private job agencies often pay lower hourly wages. Is the decision fair?
(Photo courtesy of Brian Stansberry/Wikimedia Commons)

Conflict theorists are deeply critical of social stratification, asserting that it benefits only some people, not all of society.
For instance, to a conflict theorist, it seems wrong that a basketball player is paid millions for an annual contract while a
public school teacher earns $35,000 a year. Stratification, conflict theorists believe, perpetuates inequality. Conflict
theorists try to bring awareness to inequalities, such as how a rich society can have so many poor members.

Many conflict theorists draw on the work of Karl Marx. During the nineteenth-century era of industrialization, Marx
believed social stratification resulted from people’s relationship to production. People were divided by a single line: they
either owned factories or worked in them. In Marx’s time, bourgeois capitalists owned high-producing businesses,
factories, and land, as they still do today. Proletariats were the workers who performed the manual labor to produce goods.
Upper-class capitalists raked in profits and got rich, while working-class proletariats earned skimpy wages and struggled
to survive. With such opposing interests, the two groups were divided by differences of wealth and power. Marx saw
workers experience deep alienation, isolation and misery resulting from powerless status levels (Marx 1848). Marx argued
that proletariats were oppressed by the money-hungry bourgeois.

Today, while working conditions have improved, conflict theorists believe that the strained working relationship between
employers and employees still exists. Capitalists own the means of production, and a system is in place to make business
owners rich and keep workers poor. According to conflict theorists, the resulting stratification creates class conflict. If he
were alive in today’s economy, as it recovers from a prolonged recession, Marx would likely have argued that the
recession resulted from the greed of capitalists, satisfied at the expense of working people.

Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism is a theory that uses everyday interactions of individuals to explain society as a whole. Symbolic
interactionism examines stratification from a micro-level perspective. This analysis strives to explain how people’s social
standing affects their everyday interactions.

In most communities, people interact primarily with others who share the same social standing. It is precisely because of
social stratification that people tend to live, work, and associate with others like themselves, people who share their same
income level, educational background, or racial background, and even tastes in food, music, and clothing. The built-in
system of social stratification groups people together. This is one of the reasons why it was rare for a royal prince like
England’s Prince William to marry a commoner.

Symbolic interactionists also note that people’s appearance reflects their perceived social standing. Housing, clothing, and
transportation indicate social status, as do hairstyles, taste in accessories, and personal style.

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 197

caste system:

class:

class system:

class traits:

conspicuous consumption:

Davis-Moore thesis:

downward mobility:

endogamous marriages:

exogamous unions:

global stratification:

income:

intergenerational mobility:

intragenerational mobility:

meritocracy:

(a)

(b)

Figure 9.14 (a) A group of construction workers on the job site, and (b) a group of businessmen. What categories of stratification do these
construction workers share? How do construction workers differ from executives or custodians? Who is more skilled? Who has greater prestige in
society? (Photo (a) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; Photo (b) courtesy of Chun Kit/flickr)

To symbolically communicate social standing, people often engage in conspicuous consumption, which is the purchase
and use of certain products to make a social statement about status. Carrying pricey but eco-friendly water bottles could
indicate a person’s social standing. Some people buy expensive trendy sneakers even though they will never wear them to
jog or play sports. A $17,000 car provides transportation as easily as a $100,000 vehicle, but the luxury car makes a social
statement that the less expensive car can’t live up to. All these symbols of stratification are worthy of examination by an
interactionist.

Chapter Review

Key Terms
a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives

a group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation

social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments

the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class (also called class markers)

the act of buying and using products to make a statement about social standing

a thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity

a lowering of one’s social class

unions of people within the same social category

unions of spouses from different social categories

a comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole

the money a person earns from work or investments

a difference in social class between different generations of a family

a difference in social class between different members of the same generation

an ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing

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primogeniture:

social mobility:

social stratification:

standard of living:

status consistency:

structural mobility:

upward mobility:

wealth:

a law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son

the ability to change positions within a social stratification system

a socioeconomic system that divides society’s members into categories ranking from high to
low, based on things like wealth, power, and prestige

the level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular
socioeconomic lifestyle

the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across social categories like income,
education, and occupation

a societal change that enables a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder

an increase—or upward shift—in social class

the value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance

Section Summary

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?
Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social position, or open, meaning they allow
movement and interaction between the layers. A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or
birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors
like wealth, income, education, and occupation. A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers standing
based on personal worth, rewarding effort.

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

There are three main classes in the United States: upper, middle, and lower class. Social mobility describes a shift from
one social class to another. Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define
each class.

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality
Global stratification compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole. By comparing
income and productivity between nations, researchers can better identify global inequalities.

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
Social stratification can be examined from different sociological perspectives—functionalism, conflict theory, and
symbolic interactionism. The functionalist perspective states that systems exist in society for good reasons. Conflict
theorists observe that stratification promotes inequality, such as between rich business owners and poor workers. Symbolic
interactionists examine stratification from a micro-level perspective. They observe how social standing affects people’s
everyday interactions and how the concept of “social class” is constructed and maintained through everyday interactions.

Section Quiz

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?
1. What factor makes caste systems closed?

a. They are run by secretive governments.
b. People cannot change their social standings.
c. Most have been outlawed.
d. They exist only in rural areas.

2. What factor makes class systems open?
a. They allow for movement between the classes.
b. People are more open-minded.
c. People are encouraged to socialize within their class.

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 199

d. They do not have clearly defined layers.

3. Which of these systems allows for the most social mobility?
a. Caste
b. Monarchy
c. Endogamy
d. Class

4. Which person best illustrates opportunities for upward social mobility in the United States?
a. First-shift factory worker
b. First-generation college student
c. Firstborn son who inherits the family business
d. First-time interviewee who is hired for a job

5. Which statement illustrates low status consistency?
a. A suburban family lives in a modest ranch home and enjoys a nice vacation each summer.
b. A single mother receives food stamps and struggles to find adequate employment.
c. A college dropout launches an online company that earns millions in its first year.
d. A celebrity actress owns homes in three countries.

6. Based on meritocracy, a physician’s assistant would:
a. receive the same pay as all the other physician’s assistants
b. be encouraged to earn a higher degree to seek a better position
c. most likely marry a professional at the same level
d. earn a pay raise for doing excellent work

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States
7. In the United States, most people define themselves as:

a. middle class
b. upper class
c. lower class
d. no specific class

8. Structural mobility occurs when:
a. an individual moves up the class ladder
b. an individual moves down the class ladder
c. a large group moves up or down the class ladder due to societal changes
d. a member of a family belongs to a different class than his or her siblings

9. The behaviors, customs, and norms associated with a class are known as:
a. class traits
b. power
c. prestige
d. underclass

10. Which of the following scenarios is an example of intragenerational mobility?
a. A janitor belongs to the same social class as his grandmother did.
b. An executive belongs to a different class than her parents.
c. An editor shares the same social class as his cousin.
d. A lawyer belongs to a different class than her sister.

11. Occupational prestige means that jobs are:
a. all equal in status
b. not equally valued
c. assigned to a person for life
d. not part of a person’s self-identity

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality
12. Social stratification is a system that:

a. ranks society members into categories
b. destroys competition between society members
c. allows society members to choose their social standing

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d. reflects personal choices of society members

13. Which graphic concept best illustrates the concept of social stratification?
a. Pie chart
b. Flag poles
c. Planetary movement
d. Pyramid

14. The GNI PPP figure represents:
a. a country’s total accumulated wealth
b. annual government spending
c. the average annual income of a country’s citizens
d. a country’s debt

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
15. The basic premise of the Davis-Moore thesis is that the unequal distribution of rewards in social stratification:

a. is an outdated mode of societal organization
b. is an artificial reflection of society
c. serves a purpose in society
d. cannot be justified

16. Unlike Davis and Moore, Melvin Tumin believed that, because of social stratification, some qualified people were
_______ higher-level job positions.

a. denied the opportunity to obtain
b. encouraged to train for
c. often fired from
d. forced into

17. Which statement represents stratification from the perspective of symbolic interactionism?
a. Men often earn more than women, even working the same job.
b. After work, Pat, a janitor, feels more comfortable eating in a truck stop than a French restaurant.
c. Doctors earn more money because their job is more highly valued.
d. Teachers continue to struggle to keep benefits such as health insurance.

18. When Karl Marx said workers experience alienation, he meant that workers:
a. must labor alone, without companionship
b. do not feel connected to their work
c. move from one geographical location to another
d. have to put forth self-effort to get ahead

19. Conflict theorists view capitalists as those who:
a. are ambitious
b. fund social services
c. spend money wisely
d. get rich while workers stay poor

Short Answer

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?
1. Track the social stratification of your family tree. Did the social standing of your parents differ from the social standing
of your grandparents and great-grandparents? What social traits were handed down by your forebears? Are there any
exogamous marriages in your history? Does your family exhibit status consistencies or inconsistencies?

2. What defines communities that have low status consistency? What are the ramifications, both positive and negative, of
cultures with low status consistency? Try to think of specific examples to support your ideas.

3. Review the concept of stratification. Now choose a group of people you have observed and been a part of—for
example, cousins, high school friends, classmates, sport teammates, or coworkers. How does the structure of the social
group you chose adhere to the concept of stratification?

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

Chapter 9 | Social Stratification in the United States 201

4. Which social class do you and your family belong to? Are you in a different social class than your grandparents and
great-grandparents? Does your class differ from your social standing, and, if so, how? What aspects of your societal
situation establish you in a social class?

5. What class traits define your peer group? For example, what speech patterns or clothing trends do you and your friends
share? What cultural elements, such as taste in music or hobbies, define your peer group? How do you see this set of class
traits as different from other classes either above or below yours?

6. Write a list of ten to twenty class traits that describe the environment of your upbringing. Which of these seem like true
class traits, and which seem like stereotypes? What items might fall into both categories? How do you imagine a
sociologist might address the conflation of class traits and stereotypes?

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality
7. Why is it important to understand and be aware of global stratification? Make a list of specific issues that are related to
global stratification. For inspiration, turn on a news channel or read the newspaper. Next, choose a topic from your list,
and look at it more closely. Who is affected by this issue? How is the issue specifically related to global stratification?

8. Compare a family that lives in a grass hut in Ethiopia to an American family living in a trailer home in the Unites
States. Assuming both exist at or below the poverty levels established by their country, how are the families’ lifestyles and
economic situations similar and how are they different?

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
9. Analyze the Davis-Moore thesis. Do you agree with Davis and Moore? Does social stratification play an important
function in society? What examples can you think of that support the thesis? What examples can you think of that refute
the thesis?

10. Consider social stratification from the symbolic interactionist perspective. How does social stratification influence the
daily interactions of individuals? How do systems of class, based on factors such as prestige, power, income, and wealth,
influence your own daily routines, as well as your beliefs and attitudes? Illustrate your ideas with specific examples and
anecdotes from your own life and the lives of people in your community.

Further Research

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?
The New York Times investigated social stratification in their series of articles called “Class Matters.” The online
accompaniment to the series includes an interactive graphic called “How Class Works,” which tallies four
factors—occupation, education, income, and wealth—and places an individual within a certain class and percentile. What
class describes you? Test your class rank on the interactive site: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/NY_Times_how_class_works
(http://openstaxcollege.org/l/NY_Times_how_class_works)

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States
PBS made a documentary about social class called “People Like Us: Social Class in America.” The filmmakers
interviewed people who lived in Park Avenue penthouses and Appalachian trailer parks. The accompanying web site is full
of information, interactive games, and life stories from those who participated. Read about it at http://openstaxcollege.org/
l/social_class_in_America (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/social_class_in_America)

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality
Nations Online refers to itself as “among other things, a more or less objective guide to the world, a statement for the
peaceful, nonviolent coexistence of nations.” The website provides a variety of cultural, financial, historical, and ethnic
information on countries and peoples throughout the world: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Nations_Online
(http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Nations_Online) .

References

9.0 Introduction to Social Stratification in the United States
Huot, Anne E. 2014. “A Commitment to Making College Accessible to First-Generation College Students.” Huffington
Post. Retrieved December 22, 2014 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-e-huot/first-generation-college-
students_b_6081958.html).

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http://openstaxcollege.org/l/NY_Times_how_class_works

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/NY_Times_how_class_works

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/social_class_in_America

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/social_class_in_America

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Nations_Online

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Nations_Online

9.1 What Is Social Stratification?
Köhler, Nicholas. 2010. “An Uncommon Princess.” Maclean’s, November 22. Retrieved January 9, 2012
(http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-princess/ (http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-
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McKee, Victoria. 1996. “Blue Blood and the Color of Money.” New York Times, June 9.

Marquand, Robert. 2011. “What Kate Middleton’s Wedding to Prince William Could Do for Britain.” Christian Science
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9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States
Beeghley, Leonard. 2008. The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.

DeVine, Christine. 2005. Class in Turn-of-the-Century Novels of Gissing, James, Hardy and Wells. London: Ashgate
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Domhoff, G. William. 2013. “Wealth, Income, and Power.” Retrieved December 22, 2014 (http://www2.ucsc.edu/
whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html).

Gilbert, Dennis. 2010. The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality. Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge
Press.

Kennickell, Arthur B. 2009. Ponds and Streams: Wealth and Income in the U.S., 1989 to 2007. January 7. Retrieved
January 10, 2012 (http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2009/200913/200913pap (http://www.federalreserve.gov/
pubs/feds/2009/200913/200913pap ) ).

Lin, Nan, and Wen Xie. 1988. “Occupational Prestige in Urban China.” American Journal of Sociology 93(4):793–832.

Mason, Jeff, and Andy Sullivan. 2010. “Factbox: What Is Middle Class in the United States?” Reuters, September 14.
Retrieved August 29, 2011 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/14/us-usa-taxes-middleclass-
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idUSTRE68D3QD20100914) ).

Popken, Ben. “CEO Pay Up 298%, Average Worker’s? 4.3% (1995-2005),” 2007, The Consumerist. Retrieved on
December 31, 2014 (http://consumerist.com/2007/04/09/ceo-pay-up-298-average-workers-43-1995-2005/)

United States Department of Labor. 2014. “Wage and Hour Division: Minimum Wage Laws in the States—September 1,
2014.” Retrieved January 10, 2012 (http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm (http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/
america.htm) ).

United States Department of Agriculture, 2013, “Food and Nutrition Assistance Research Database: Overview.” Retrieved
December 31, 2014 (http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-and-nutrition-assistance-research-database/ridge-project-
summaries.aspx?type=2&summaryId=233)

Williams, Raymond. 1984 [1976]. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York: Oxford University Press.

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality
Millennium Project. 2006. “Expanding the financial envelope to achieve the Goals.” Millennium Project Official Website.
Retrieved January 9, 2012 (http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/costs_benefits2.htm
(http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/costs_benefits2.htm) ).

Nationsonline.org. “Countries by Gross National Income (GNI).” Retrieved January 9, 2012
(http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/GNI_PPP_of_countries.htm (http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/
GNI_PPP_of_countries.htm) ).

PRB.org. “GNI PPP Per Capita (US$).” PRB 2011 World Population Data Sheet. 2011 Population Reference Bureau.
Retrieved January 10, 2012 (http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/Rankings.aspx?ind=61 (http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/
Topic/Rankings.aspx?ind=61) ).

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http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-princess/

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/11/22/an-uncommon-princess/

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/0415/What-Kate-Middleton-s-wedding-to-Prince-William-could-do-for-Britain

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9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
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2A4B6D8C10B12A14C16A18B

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http://www.jstor.org/stable/2085643

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/

10 Global Inequality

Figure 10.1 Contemporary economic development often follows a similar pattern around the world, best described as a growing gap between the
have and have-nots. (Photo courtesy of Alicia Nijdam/Wikimedia Commons)

Learning Objectives
10.1. Global Stratification and Classification

• Describe global stratification

• Understand how different classification systems have developed

• Use terminology from Wallerstein’s world systems approach

• Explain the World Bank’s classification of economies

10.2. Global Wealth and Poverty
• Understand the differences between relative, absolute, and subjective poverty

• Describe the economic situation of some of the world’s most impoverished areas

• Explain the cyclical impact of the consequences of poverty

10.3. Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
• Describe the modernization and dependency theory perspectives on global stratification

Introduction to Global Inequality
The April 24, 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh that killed over 1,100 people, was the deadliest
garment factory accident in history, and it was preventable (International Labour Organization, Department of
Communication 2014).

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In addition to garment factories employing about 5,000 people, the building contained a bank, apartments, childcare
facilities, and a variety of shops. Many of these closed the day before the collapse when cracks were discovered in the
building walls. When some of the garment workers refused to enter the building, they were threatened with the loss of a
month’s pay. Most were young women, aged twenty or younger. They typically worked over thirteen hours a day, with two
days off each month. For this work, they took home between twelve and twenty-two cents an hour, or $10.56 to $12.48 a
week. Without that pay, most would have been unable to feed their children. In contrast, the U.S. federal minimum wage is
$7.25 an hour, and workers receive wages at time-and-a-half rates for work in excess of forty hours a week.

Did you buy clothes from Walmart in 2012? What about at The Children’s Place? Did you ever think about where those
clothes came from? Of the outsourced garments made in the garment factories, thirty-two were intended for U.S,
Canadian, and European stores. In the aftermath of the collapse, it was revealed that Walmart jeans were made in the Ether
Tex garment factory on the fifth floor of the Rana Plaza building, while 120,000 pounds of clothing for The Children’s
Place were produced in the New Wave Style Factory, also located in the building. Afterward, Walmart and The Children’s
Place pledged $1 million and $450,000 (respectively) to the Rana Plaza Trust Fund, but fifteen other companies with
clothing made in the building have contributed nothing, including U.S. companies Cato and J.C. Penney (Institute for
Global Labour and Human Rights 2014).

While you read this chapter, think about the global system that allows U.S. companies to outsource their manufacturing to
peripheral nations, where many women and children work in conditions that some characterize as slave labor. Do people in
the United States have a responsibility to foreign workers? Should U.S. corporations be held accountable for what happens
to garment factory workers who make their clothing? What can you do as a consumer to help such workers?

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
Just as the United States’ wealth is increasingly concentrated among its richest citizens while the middle class slowly
disappears, global inequality is concentrating resources in certain nations and is significantly affecting the opportunities
of individuals in poorer and less powerful countries. In fact, a recent Oxfam (2014) report that suggested the richest
eighty-five people in the world are worth more than the poorest 3.5 billion combined. The GINI coefficient measures
income inequality between countries using a 100-point scale on which 1 represents complete equality and 100 represents
the highest possible inequality. In 2007, the global GINI coefficient that measured the wealth gap between the core nations
in the northern part of the world and the mostly peripheral nations in the southern part of the world was 75.5 percent
(Korseniewicz and Moran 2009). But before we delve into the complexities of global inequality, let’s consider how the
three major sociological perspectives might contribute to our understanding of it.

The functionalist perspective is a macroanalytical view that focuses on the way that all aspects of society are integral to the
continued health and viability of the whole. A functionalist might focus on why we have global inequality and what social
purposes it serves. This view might assert, for example, that we have global inequality because some nations are better
than others at adapting to new technologies and profiting from a globalized economy, and that when core nation
companies locate in peripheral nations, they expand the local economy and benefit the workers.

Conflict theory focuses on the creation and reproduction of inequality. A conflict theorist would likely address the
systematic inequality created when core nations exploit the resources of peripheral nations. For example, how many U.S.
companies take advantage of overseas workers who lack the constitutional protection and guaranteed minimum wages that
exist in the United States? Doing so allows them to maximize profits, but at what cost?

The symbolic interaction perspective studies the day-to-day impact of global inequality, the meanings individuals attach to
global stratification, and the subjective nature of poverty. Someone applying this view to global inequality would probably
focus on understanding the difference between what someone living in a core nation defines as poverty (relative poverty,
defined as being unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in your country) and what someone living in a peripheral
nation defines as poverty (absolute poverty, defined as being barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities, such as
food).

Global Stratification
While stratification in the United States refers to the unequal distribution of resources among individuals, global
stratification refers to this unequal distribution among nations. There are two dimensions to this stratification: gaps
between nations and gaps within nations. When it comes to global inequality, both economic inequality and social
inequality may concentrate the burden of poverty among certain segments of the earth’s population (Myrdal 1970). As the
chart below illustrates, people’s life expectancy depends heavily on where they happen to be born.

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Table 10.1 Statistics such as infant mortality rates and life expectancy
vary greatly by country of origin. (Central Intelligence Agency 2011)

Country Infant Mortality Rate Life Expectancy

Norway 2.48 deaths per 1000 live births 81 years

The United States 6.17 deaths per 1000 live births 79 years

North Korea 24.50 deaths per 1000 live births 70 years

Afghanistan 117.3 deaths per 1000 live births 50 years

Most of us are accustomed to thinking of global stratification as economic inequality. For example, we can compare the
United States’ average worker’s wage to America’s average wage. Social inequality, however, is just as harmful as
economic discrepancies. Prejudice and discrimination—whether against a certain race, ethnicity, religion, or the like—can
create and aggravate conditions of economic equality, both within and between nations. Think about the inequity that
existed for decades within the nation of South Africa. Apartheid, one of the most extreme cases of institutionalized and
legal racism, created a social inequality that earned it the world’s condemnation.

Gender inequity is another global concern. Consider the controversy surrounding female genital mutilation. Nations that
practice this female circumcision procedure defend it as a longstanding cultural tradition in certain tribes and argue that the
West shouldn’t interfere. Western nations, however, decry the practice and are working to stop it.

Inequalities based on sexual orientation and gender identity exist around the globe. According to Amnesty International, a
number of crimes are committed against individuals who do not conform to traditional gender roles or sexual orientations
(however those are culturally defined). From culturally sanctioned rape to state-sanctioned executions, the abuses are
serious. These legalized and culturally accepted forms of prejudice and discrimination exist everywhere—from the United
States to Somalia to Tibet—restricting the freedom of individuals and often putting their lives at risk (Amnesty
International 2012).

Global Classification
A major concern when discussing global inequality is how to avoid an ethnocentric bias implying that less-developed
nations want to be like those who’ve attained post-industrial global power. Terms such as developing (nonindustrialized)
and developed (industrialized) imply that unindustrialized countries are somehow inferior, and must improve to participate
successfully in the global economy, a label indicating that all aspects of the economy cross national borders. We must take
care how we delineate different countries. Over time, terminology has shifted to make way for a more inclusive view of
the world.

Cold War Terminology

Cold War terminology was developed during the Cold War era (1945–1980). Familiar and still used by many, it classifies
countries into first world, second world, and third world nations based on their respective economic development and
standards of living. When this nomenclature was developed, capitalistic democracies such as the United States and Japan
were considered part of the first world. The poorest, most undeveloped countries were referred to as the third world and
included most of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The second world was the in-between category: nations
not as limited in development as the third world, but not as well off as the first world, having moderate economies and
standard of living, such as China or Cuba. Later, sociologist Manual Castells (1998) added the term fourth world to refer
to stigmatized minority groups that were denied a political voice all over the globe (indigenous minority populations,
prisoners, and the homeless, for example).

Also during the Cold War, global inequality was described in terms of economic development. Along with developing and
developed nations, the terms less-developed nation and underdeveloped nation were used. This was the era when the idea
of noblesse oblige (first-world responsibility) took root, suggesting that the so-termed developed nations should provide
foreign aid to the less-developed and underdeveloped nations in order to raise their standard of living.

Immanuel Wallerstein: World Systems Approach

Immanuel Wallerstein’s (1979) world systems approach uses an economic basis to understand global inequality.
Wallerstein conceived of the global economy as a complex system that supports an economic hierarchy that placed some
nations in positions of power with numerous resources and other nations in a state of economic subordination. Those that
were in a state of subordination faced significant obstacles to mobilization.

Chapter 10 | Global Inequality 207

Core nations are dominant capitalist countries, highly industrialized, technological, and urbanized. For example,
Wallerstein contends that the United States is an economic powerhouse that can support or deny support to important
economic legislation with far-reaching implications, thus exerting control over every aspect of the global economy and
exploiting both semi-peripheral and peripheral nations. We can look at free trade agreements such as the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as an example of how a core nation is able to leverage its power to gain the most
advantageous position in the matter of global trade.

Peripheral nations have very little industrialization; what they do have often represents the outdated castoffs of core
nations or the factories and means of production owned by core nations. They typically have unstable governments,
inadequate social programs, and are economically dependent on core nations for jobs and aid. There are abundant
examples of countries in this category, such as Vietnam and Cuba. We can be sure the workers in a Cuban cigar factory, for
example, which are owned or leased by global core nation companies, are not enjoying the same privileges and rights as
U.S. workers.

Semi-peripheral nations are in-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but nevertheless acting as a major
source for raw material and an expanding middle-class marketplace for core nations, while also exploiting peripheral
nations. Mexico is an example, providing abundant cheap agricultural labor to the U.S., and supplying goods to the United
States market at a rate dictated by the U.S. without the constitutional protections offered to United States workers.

World Bank Economic Classification by Income

While the World Bank is often criticized, both for its policies and its method of calculating data, it is still a common source
for global economic data. Along with tracking the economy, the World Bank tracks demographics and environmental
health to provide a complete picture of whether a nation is high income, middle income, or low income.

Figure 10.2 This world map shows advanced, transitioning, less, and least developed countries. (Map courtesy of Sbw01f, data obtained from the
CIA World Factbook/Wikimedia Commons)

High-Income Nations

The World Bank defines high-income nations as having a gross national income of at least $12,746 per capita. The OECD
(Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development) countries make up a group of thirty-four nations whose
governments work together to promote economic growth and sustainability. According to the World Bank (2014b), in
2013, the average gross national income (GNI) per capita, or the mean income of the people in a nation, found by
dividing total GNI by the total population, of a high-income nation belonging to the OECD was $43,903 per capita and the
total population was over one billion (1.045 billion); on average, 81 percent of the population in these nations was urban.
Some of these countries include the United States, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom (World Bank 2014b).

High-income countries face two major issues: capital flight and deindustrialization. Capital flight refers to the movement
(flight) of capital from one nation to another, as when General Motors automotive company closed U.S. factories in
Michigan and opened factories in Mexico. Deindustrialization, a related issue, occurs as a consequence of capital flight,
as no new companies open to replace jobs lost to foreign nations. As expected, global companies move their industrial
processes to the places where they can get the most production with the least cost, including the building of infrastructure,
training of workers, shipping of goods, and, of course, paying employee wages. This means that as emerging economies
create their own industrial zones, global companies see the opportunity for existing infrastructure and much lower costs.
Those opportunities lead to businesses closing the factories that provide jobs to the middle class within core nations and
moving their industrial production to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations.

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Making Connections: Big Picturethe

Capital Flight, Outsourcing, and Jobs in the United
States

Figure 10.3 This dilapidated auto supply store in Detroit is a victim of auto industry outsourcing. (Photo courtesy of Bob Jagendorf/flickr)

Capital flight describes jobs and infrastructure moving from one nation to another. Look at the U.S. automobile
industry. In the early twentieth century, the cars driven in the United States were made here, employing thousands of
workers in Detroit and in the companies that produced everything that made building cars possible. However, once
the fuel crisis of the 1970s hit and people in the United States increasingly looked to imported cars with better gas
mileage, U.S. auto manufacturing began to decline. During the 2007–2009 recession, the U.S. government bailed out
the three main auto companies, underscoring their vulnerability. At the same time, Japanese-owned Toyota and
Honda and South Korean Kia maintained stable sales levels.

Capital flight also occurs when services (as opposed to manufacturing) are relocated. Chances are if you have called
the tech support line for your cell phone or Internet provider, you’ve spoken to someone halfway across the globe.
This professional might tell you her name is Susan or Joan, but her accent makes it clear that her real name might be
Parvati or Indira. It might be the middle of the night in that country, yet these service providers pick up the line
saying, “Good morning,” as though they are in the next town over. They know everything about your phone or your
modem, often using a remote server to log in to your home computer to accomplish what is needed. These are the
workers of the twenty-first century. They are not on factory floors or in traditional sweatshops; they are educated,
speak at least two languages, and usually have significant technology skills. They are skilled workers, but they are
paid a fraction of what similar workers are paid in the United States. For U.S. and multinational companies, the
equation makes sense. India and other semi-peripheral countries have emerging infrastructures and education systems
to fill their needs, without core nation costs.

As services are relocated, so are jobs. In the United States, unemployment is high. Many college-educated people are
unable to find work, and those with only a high school diploma are in even worse shape. We have, as a country,
outsourced ourselves out of jobs, and not just menial jobs, but white-collar work as well. But before we complain too
bitterly, we must look at the culture of consumerism that we embrace. A flat screen television that might have cost
$1,000 a few years ago is now $350. That cost savings has to come from somewhere. When consumers seek the
lowest possible price, shop at big box stores for the biggest discount they can get, and generally ignore other factors
in exchange for low cost, they are building the market for outsourcing. And as the demand is built, the market will
ensure it is met, even at the expense of the people who wanted it in the first place.

Chapter 10 | Global Inequality 209

Figure 10.4 Is this international call center the wave of the future? (Photo courtesy of Vilma.com/flickr)

Middle-Income Nations

The World Bank defines middle-income economies areas those with a GNI per capita of more than $1,045 but less than
$12,746. According to the World Bank (2014), in 2013, the average GNI per capita of an upper middle income nation was
$7,594 per capita with a total population of 2.049 billion, of which 62 percent was urban. Thailand, China, and Namibia
are examples of middle-income nations (World Bank 2014a).

Perhaps the most pressing issue for middle-income nations is the problem of debt accumulation. As the name suggests,
debt accumulation is the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their
expansion or growth goals. As the uncertainties of the global economy make repaying these debts, or even paying the
interest on them, more challenging, nations can find themselves in trouble. Once global markets have reduced the value of
a country’s goods, it can be very difficult to ever manage the debt burden. Such issues have plagued middle-income
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as East Asian and Pacific nations (Dogruel and Dogruel 2007). By
way of example, even in the European Union, which is composed of more core nations than semi-peripheral nations, the
semi-peripheral nations of Italy and Greece face increasing debt burdens. The economic downturns in both Greece and
Italy still threaten the economy of the entire European Union.

Low-Income Nations

The World Bank defines low-income countries as nations whose per capita GNI was $1,045 per capita or less in 2013.
According to the World Bank (2014a), in 2013, the average per capita GNI of a low-income nation was $528 per capita
and the total population was 796,261,360, with 28 percent located in urban areas. For example, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and
Somalia are considered low-income countries. Low-income economies are primarily found in Asia and Africa (World
Bank 2014a), where most of the world’s population lives. There are two major challenges that these countries face: women
are disproportionately affected by poverty (in a trend toward a global feminization of poverty) and much of the population
lives in absolute poverty.

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10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty

Figure 10.5 How poor is poor for these beggar children in Vietnam? (Photo courtesy of Augapfel/flickr)

What does it mean to be poor? Does it mean being a single mother with two kids in New York City, waiting for the next
paycheck in order to buy groceries? Does it mean living with almost no furniture in your apartment because your income
doesn’t allow for extras like beds or chairs? Or does it mean having to live with the distended bellies of the chronically
malnourished throughout the peripheral nations of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia? Poverty has a thousand faces and a
thousand gradations; there is no single definition that pulls together every part of the spectrum. You might feel you are
poor if you can’t afford cable television or buy your own car. Every time you see a fellow student with a new laptop and
smartphone you might feel that you, with your ten-year-old desktop computer, are barely keeping up. However, someone
else might look at the clothes you wear and the calories you consume and consider you rich.

Types of Poverty
Social scientists define global poverty in different ways and take into account the complexities and the issues of relativism
described above. Relative poverty is a state of living where people can afford necessities but are unable to meet their
society’s average standard of living. People often disparage “keeping up with the Joneses”—the idea that you must keep
up with the neighbors’ standard of living to not feel deprived. But it is true that you might feel ”poor” if you are living
without a car to drive to and from work, without any money for a safety net should a family member fall ill, and without
any “extras” beyond just making ends meet.

Contrary to relative poverty, people who live in absolute poverty lack even the basic necessities, which typically include
adequate food, clean water, safe housing, and access to healthcare. Absolute poverty is defined by the World Bank (2014a)
as when someone lives on less than $1.25 a day. According to the most recent estimates, in 2011, about 17 percent of
people in the developing world lived at or below $1.25 a day, a decrease of 26 percent compared to ten years ago, and an
overall decrease of 35 percent compared to twenty years ago. A shocking number of people––88 million––live in absolute
poverty, and close to 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day (Shah 2011). If you were forced to live on $2.50 a day,
how would you do it? What would you deem worthy of spending money on, and what could you do without? How would
you manage the necessities—and how would you make up the gap between what you need to live and what you can
afford?

Chapter 10 | Global Inequality 211

Making Connections: Big Picturethe

Figure 10.6 Slums in India illustrate absolute poverty all too well. (Photo courtesy of Emmanuelle Dyan/flickr)

Subjective poverty describes poverty that is composed of many dimensions; it is subjectively present when your actual
income does not meet your expectations and perceptions. With the concept of subjective poverty, the poor themselves have
a greater say in recognizing when it is present. In short, subjective poverty has more to do with how a person or a family
defines themselves. This means that a family subsisting on a few dollars a day in Nepal might think of themselves as doing
well, within their perception of normal. However, a westerner traveling to Nepal might visit the same family and see
extreme need.

The Underground Economy Around the World
What do the driver of an unlicensed hack cab in New York, a piecework seamstress working from her home in
Mumbai, and a street tortilla vendor in Mexico City have in common? They are all members of the underground
economy, a loosely defined unregulated market unhindered by taxes, government permits, or human protections.
Official statistics before the worldwide recession posit that the underground economy accounted for over 50 percent
of nonagricultural work in Latin America; the figure went as high as 80 percent in parts of Asia and Africa (Chen
2001). A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discusses the challenges, parameters, and surprising benefits of this
informal marketplace. The wages earned in most underground economy jobs, especially in peripheral nations, are a
pittance––a few rupees for a handmade bracelet at a market, or maybe 250 rupees ($5 U.S.) for a day’s worth of fruit
and vegetable sales (Barta 2009). But these tiny sums mark the difference between survival and extinction for the
world’s poor.

The underground economy has never been viewed very positively by global economists. After all, its members don’t
pay taxes, don’t take out loans to grow their businesses, and rarely earn enough to put money back into the economy
in the form of consumer spending. But according to the International Labor Organization (an agency of the United
Nations), some 52 million people worldwide will lose their jobs due to the ongoing worldwide recession. And while
those in core nations know that high unemployment rates and limited government safety nets can be frightening, their
situation is nothing compared to the loss of a job for those barely eking out an existence. Once that job disappears, the
chance of staying afloat is very slim.

Within the context of this recession, some see the underground economy as a key player in keeping people alive.
Indeed, an economist at the World Bank credits jobs created by the informal economy as a primary reason why
peripheral nations are not in worse shape during this recession. Women in particular benefit from the informal sector.
The majority of economically active women in peripheral nations are engaged in the informal sector, which is
somewhat buffered from the economic downturn. The flip side, of course, is that it is equally buffered from the
possibility of economic growth.

Even in the United States, the informal economy exists, although not on the same scale as in peripheral and semi-
peripheral nations. It might include under-the-table nannies, gardeners, and housecleaners, as well as unlicensed street
vendors and taxi drivers. There are also those who run informal businesses, like daycares or salons, from their houses.
Analysts estimate that this type of labor may make up 10 percent of the overall U.S. economy, a number that will
likely grow as companies reduce head counts, leaving more workers to seek other options. In the end, the article

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suggests that, whether selling medicinal wines in Thailand or woven bracelets in India, the workers of the
underground economy at least have what most people want most of all: a chance to stay afloat (Barta 2009).

Who Are the Impoverished?
Who are the impoverished? Who is living in absolute poverty? The truth that most of us would guess that the richest
countries are often those with the least people. Compare the United States, which possesses a relatively small slice of the
population pie and owns by far the largest slice of the wealth pie, with India. These disparities have the expected
consequence. The poorest people in the world are women and those in peripheral and semi-peripheral nations. For women,
the rate of poverty is particularly worsened by the pressure on their time. In general, time is one of the few luxuries the
very poor have, but study after study has shown that women in poverty, who are responsible for all family comforts as well
as any earnings they can make, have less of it. The result is that while men and women may have the same rate of
economic poverty, women are suffering more in terms of overall wellbeing (Buvinic 1997). It is harder for females to get
credit to expand businesses, to take the time to learn a new skill, or to spend extra hours improving their craft so as to be
able to earn at a higher rate.

Global Feminization of Poverty

In some ways, the phrase “global feminization of poverty” says it all: around the world, women are bearing a
disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty. This means more women live in poor conditions, receive inadequate
healthcare, bear the brunt of malnutrition and inadequate drinking water, and so on. Throughout the 1990s, data indicated
that while overall poverty rates were rising, especially in peripheral nations, the rates of impoverishment increased for
women nearly 20 percent more than for men (Mogadham 2005).

Why is this happening? While myriad variables affect women’s poverty, research specializing in this issue identifies three
causes (Mogadham 2005):

1. The expansion in the number of female-headed households

2. The persistence and consequences of intra-household inequalities and biases against women

3. The implementation of neoliberal economic policies around the world

While women are living longer and healthier lives today compared to ten years ago, around the world many women are
denied basic rights, particularly in the workplace. In peripheral nations, they accumulate fewer assets, farm less land, make
less money, and face restricted civil rights and liberties. Women can stimulate the economic growth of peripheral nations,
but they are often undereducated and lack access to credit needed to start small businesses.

In 2013, the United Nations assessed its progress toward achieving its Millennium Development Goals. Goal 3 was to
promote gender equality and empower women, and there were encouraging advances in this area. While women’s
employment outside the agricultural sector remains under 20 percent in Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Southern Asia,
worldwide it increased from 35–40 percent over the twenty-year period ending in 2010 (United Nations 2013).

Africa

The majority of the poorest countries in the world are in Africa. That is not to say there is not diversity within the
countries of that continent; countries like South Africa and Egypt have much lower rates of poverty than Angola and
Ethiopia, for instance. Overall, African income levels have been dropping relative to the rest of the world, meaning that
Africa as a whole is getting relatively poorer. Making the problem worse, 2014 saw an outbreak of the Ebola virus in
western Africa, leading to a public health crisis and an economic downturn due to loss of workers and tourist dollars.

Why is Africa in such dire straits? Much of the continent’s poverty can be traced to the availability of land, especially
arable land (land that can be farmed). Centuries of struggle over land ownership have meant that much useable land has
been ruined or left unfarmed, while many countries with inadequate rainfall have never set up an infrastructure to irrigate.
Many of Africa’s natural resources were long ago taken by colonial forces, leaving little agricultural and mineral wealth on
the continent.

Further, African poverty is worsened by civil wars and inadequate governance that are the result of a continent re-
imagined with artificial colonial borders and leaders. Consider the example of Rwanda. There, two ethnic groups
cohabitated with their own system of hierarchy and management until Belgians took control of the country in 1915 and
rigidly confined members of the population into two unequal ethnic groups. While, historically, members of the Tutsi
group held positions of power, the involvement of Belgians led to the Hutu’s seizing power during a 1960s revolt. This
ultimately led to a repressive government and genocide against Tutsis that left hundreds of thousands of Rwandans dead or

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living in diaspora (U.S. Department of State 2011c). The painful rebirth of a self-ruled Africa has meant many countries
bear ongoing scars as they try to see their way towards the future (World Poverty 2012a).

Asia

While the majority of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa, the majority of the world’s poorest people are in Asia. As
in Africa, Asia finds itself with disparity in the distribution of poverty, with Japan and South Korea holding much more
wealth than India and Cambodia. In fact, most poverty is concentrated in South Asia. One of the most pressing causes of
poverty in Asia is simply the pressure that the size of the population puts on its resources. In fact, many believe that
China’s success in recent times has much to do with its draconian population control rules. According to the U.S. State
department, China’s market-oriented reforms have contributed to its significant reduction of poverty and the speed at
which it has experienced an increase in income levels (U.S. Department of State 2011b). However, every part of Asia is
feeling the current global recession, from the poorest countries whose aid packages will be hit, to the more industrialized
ones whose own industries are slowing down. These factors make the poverty on the ground unlikely to improve any time
soon (World Poverty 2012b).

MENA

The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) includes oil-rich countries in the Gulf, such as Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait,
but also countries that are relatively resource-poor in relationship to their populations, such as Morocco and Yemen. These
countries are predominately Islamic. For the last quarter-century, economic growth was slower in MENA than in other
developing economies, and almost a quarter of the 300 million people who make up the population live on less than $2.00
a day (World Bank 2013).

The International Labour Organization tracks the way income inequality influences social unrest. The two regions with the
highest risk of social unrest are Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region (International Labour
Organization 2012). Increasing unemployment and high socioeconomic inequality in MENA were major factors in the
Arab Spring, which—beginning in 2010—toppled dictatorships throughout the Middle East in favor of democratically
elected government; unemployment and income inequalities are still being blamed on immigrants, foreign nationals, and
ethnic/religious minorities.

Sweatshops and Student Protests: Who’s Making Your
Team Spirit?

Figure 10.7 This protester seeks to bring attention to the issue of sweatshops. (Photo courtesy of Ohio AFL-CIO Labor 2008/flickr)

Most of us don’t pay too much attention to where our favorite products are made. And certainly when you’re
shopping for a college sweatshirt or ball cap to wear to a school football game, you probably don’t turn over the label,
check who produced the item, and then research whether or not the company has fair labor practices. But for the
members of USAS––United Students Against Sweatshops––that’s exactly what they do. The organization, which was

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founded in 1997, has waged countless battles against both apparel makers and other multinational corporations that
do not meet what USAS considers fair working conditions and wages (USAS 2009).

Sometimes their demonstrations take on a sensationalist tone, as in 2006 when twenty Penn State students protested
while naked or nearly naked, in order to draw attention to the issue of sweatshop labor. The school is actually already
a member of an independent monitoring organization called Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) that monitors
working conditions and works to assist colleges and universities with maintaining compliance with their labor code.
But the students were protesting in order to have the same code of conduct applied to the factories that provide
materials for the goods, not just where the final product is assembled (Chronicle of Higher Education 2006).

The USAS organization has chapters on over 250 campuses in the United States and Canada and has waged countless
campaigns against companies like Nike and Forever 21 apparel, Taco Bell restaurants, and Sodexo food service. In
2000, members of USAS helped to create the WRC. Schools that affiliate with WRC pay annual fees that help offset
the organization’s costs. Over 180 schools are affiliated with the organization. Yet, USAS still sees signs of inequality
everywhere. And its members feel that, as current and future workers, they are responsible for ensuring that workers
of the world are treated fairly. For them, at least, the global inequality we see everywhere should not be ignored for a
team spirit sweatshirt.

Consequences of Poverty

Figure 10.8 For this child at a refugee camp in Ethiopia, poverty and malnutrition are a way of life. (Photo courtesy of DFID – UK Department for
International Development/flickr)

Not surprisingly, the consequences of poverty are often also causes. The poor often experience inadequate healthcare,
limited education, and the inaccessibility of birth control. But those born into these conditions are incredibly challenged in
their efforts to break out since these consequences of poverty are also causes of poverty, perpetuating a cycle of
disadvantage.

According to sociologists Neckerman and Torche (2007) in their analysis of global inequality studies, the consequences of
poverty are many. Neckerman and Torche have divided them into three areas. The first, termed “the sedimentation of
global inequality,” relates to the fact that once poverty becomes entrenched in an area, it is typically very difficult to
reverse. As mentioned above, poverty exists in a cycle where the consequences and causes are intertwined. The second
consequence of poverty is its effect on physical and mental health. Poor people face physical health challenges, including
malnutrition and high infant mortality rates. Mental health is also detrimentally affected by the emotional stresses of
poverty, with relative deprivation carrying the most robust effect. Again, as with the ongoing inequality, the effects of
poverty on mental and physical health become more entrenched as time goes on. Neckerman and Torche’s third
consequence of poverty is the prevalence of crime. Cross-nationally, crime rates are higher, particularly for violent crime,
in countries with higher levels of income inequality (Fajnzylber, Lederman, and Loayza 2002).

Slavery
While most of us are accustomed to thinking of slavery in terms of the antebellum South, modern day slavery goes hand-
in-hand with global inequality. In short, slavery refers to any situation in which people are sold, treated as property, or
forced to work for little or no pay. Just as in the pre-Civil War United States, these humans are at the mercy of their
employers. Chattel slavery, the form of slavery once practiced in the American South, occurs when one person owns
another as property. Child slavery, which may include child prostitution, is a form of chattel slavery. In debt bondage, or

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bonded labor, the poor pledge themselves as servants in exchange for the cost of basic necessities like transportation,
room, and board. In this scenario, people are paid less than they are charged for room and board. When travel is required,
they can arrive in debt for their travel expenses and be unable to work their way free, since their wages do not allow them
to ever get ahead.

The global watchdog group Anti-Slavery International recognizes other forms of slavery: human trafficking (in which
people are moved away from their communities and forced to work against their will), child domestic work and child
labor, and certain forms of servile marriage, in which women are little more than chattel slaves (Anti-Slavery International
2012).

10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
As with any social issue, global or otherwise, scholars have developed a variety of theories to study global stratification.
The two most widely applied perspectives are modernization theory and dependency theory.

Modernization Theory
According to modernization theory, low-income countries are affected by their lack of industrialization and can improve
their global economic standing through (Armer and Katsillis 2010):

1. an adjustment of cultural values and attitudes to work

2. industrialization and other forms of economic growth

Critics point out the inherent ethnocentric bias of this theory. It supposes all countries have the same resources and are
capable of following the same path. In addition, it assumes that the goal of all countries is to be as “developed” as
possible. There is no room within this theory for the possibility that industrialization and technology are not the best goals.

There is, of course, some basis for this assumption. Data show that core nations tend to have lower maternal and child
mortality rates, longer life spans, and less absolute poverty. It is also true that in the poorest countries, millions of people
die from the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, which are benefits most of us take for granted. At the
same time, the issue is more complex than the numbers might suggest. Cultural equality, history, community, and local
traditions are all at risk as modernization pushes into peripheral countries. The challenge, then, is to allow the benefits of
modernization while maintaining a cultural sensitivity to what already exists.

Dependency Theory
Dependency theory was created in part as a response to the Western-centric mindset of modernization theory. It states that
global inequality is primarily caused by core nations (or high-income nations) exploiting semi-peripheral and peripheral
nations (or middle-income and low-income nations), which creates a cycle of dependence (Hendricks 2010). As long as
peripheral nations are dependent on core nations for economic stimulus and access to a larger piece of the global economy,
they will never achieve stable and consistent economic growth. Further, the theory states that since core nations, as well as
the World Bank, choose which countries to make loans to, and for what they will loan funds, they are creating highly
segmented labor markets that are built to benefit the dominant market countries.

At first glance, it seems this theory ignores the formerly low-income nations that are now considered middle-income
nations and are on their way to becoming high-income nations and major players in the global economy, such as China.
But some dependency theorists would state that it is in the best interests of core nations to ensure the long-term usefulness
of their peripheral and semi-peripheral partners. Following that theory, sociologists have found that entities are more likely
to outsource a significant portion of a company’s work if they are the dominant player in the equation; in other words,
companies want to see their partner countries healthy enough to provide work, but not so healthy as to establish a threat
(Caniels and Roeleveld 2009).

Factory Girls
We’ve examined functionalist and conflict theorist perspectives on global inequality, as well as modernization and
dependency theories. How might a symbolic interactionist approach this topic?

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absolute poverty:

capital flight:

chattel slavery:

core nations:

debt accumulation:

debt bondage:

deindustrialization:

dependency theory:

first world:

fourth world:

GINI coefficient:

global feminization of poverty:

global inequality:

global stratification:

gross national income (GNI):

The book Factory Girls: From Village to City in Changing China, by Leslie T. Chang, provides this opportunity.
Chang follows two young women (Min and Chunming) employed at a handbag plant. They help manufacture coveted
purses and bags for the global market. As part of the growing population of young people who are leaving behind the
homesteads and farms of rural China, these female factory workers are ready to enter the urban fray and pursue an
ambitious income.

Although Chang’s study is based in a town many have never heard of (Dongguan), this city produces one-third of all
shoes on the planet (Nike and Reebok are major manufacturers here) and 30 percent of the world’s computer disk
drives, in addition to an abundance of apparel (Chang 2008).

But Chang’s focus is centered less on this global phenomenon on a large scale, than on how it affects these two
women. As a symbolic interactionist would do, Chang examines the daily lives and interactions of Min and
Chunming—their workplace friendships, family relationships, gadgets and goods—in this evolving global space
where young women can leave tradition behind and fashion their own futures. Their story is one that all people, not
just scholars, can learn from as we contemplate sociological issues like global economies, cultural traditions and
innovations, and opportunities for women in the workforce.

Chapter Review

Key Terms
the state where one is barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities

the movement (flight) of capital from one nation to another, via jobs and resources

a form of slavery in which one person owns another

dominant capitalist countries

the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their
expansion or growth goals

the act of people pledging themselves as servants in exchange for money for passage, and are
subsequently paid too little to regain their freedom

the loss of industrial production, usually to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations where the
costs are lower

a theory which states that global inequity is due to the exploitation of peripheral and semi-
peripheral nations by core nations

a term from the Cold War era that is used to describe industrialized capitalist democracies

a term that describes stigmatized minority groups who have no voice or representation on the world
stage

a measure of income inequality between countries using a 100-point scale, in which 1 represents
complete equality and 100 represents the highest possible inequality

a pattern that occurs when women bear a disproportionate percentage of the
burden of poverty

the concentration of resources in core nations and in the hands of a wealthy minority

the unequal distribution of resources between countries

the income of a nation calculated based on goods and services produced, plus
income earned by citizens and corporations headquartered in that country

Chapter 10 | Global Inequality 217

modernization theory:

peripheral nations:

relative poverty:

second world:

semi-peripheral nations:

subjective poverty:

third world:

underground economy:

a theory that low-income countries can improve their global economic standing by
industrialization of infrastructure and a shift in cultural attitudes towards work

nations on the fringes of the global economy, dominated by core nations, with very little
industrialization

the state of poverty where one is unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in the country

a term from the Cold War era that describes nations with moderate economies and standards of living

in-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but acting as a major source of
raw materials and an expanding middle class marketplace

a state of poverty composed of many dimensions, subjectively present when one’s actual
income does not meet one’s expectations

a term from the Cold War era that refers to poor, unindustrialized countries

an unregulated economy of labor and goods that operates outside of governance,
regulatory systems, or human protections

Section Summary

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
Stratification refers to the gaps in resources both between nations and within nations. While economic equality is of great
concern, so is social equality, like the discrimination stemming from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and/or sexual
orientation. While global inequality is nothing new, several factors make it more relevant than ever, like the global
marketplace and the pace of information sharing. Researchers try to understand global inequality by classifying it
according to factors such as how industrialized a nation is, whether a country serves as a means of production or as an
owner, and what income a nation produces.

10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty
When looking at the world’s poor, we first have to define the difference between relative poverty, absolute poverty, and
subjective poverty. While those in relative poverty might not have enough to live at their country’s standard of living,
those in absolute poverty do not have, or barely have, basic necessities such as food. Subjective poverty has more to do
with one’s perception of one’s situation. North America and Europe are home to fewer of the world’s poor than Africa,
which has most poor countries, or Asia, which has the most people living in poverty. Poverty has numerous negative
consequences, from increased crime rates to a detrimental impact on physical and mental health.

10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
Modernization theory and dependency theory are two of the most common lenses sociologists use when looking at the
issues of global inequality. Modernization theory posits that countries go through evolutionary stages and that
industrialization and improved technology are the keys to forward movement. Dependency theory, on the other hand, sees
modernization theory as Eurocentric and patronizing. With this theory, global inequality is the result of core nations
creating a cycle of dependence by exploiting resources and labor in peripheral and semi-peripheral countries.

Section Quiz

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
1. A sociologist who focuses on the way that multinational corporations headquartered in core nations exploit the local
workers in their peripheral nation factories is using a _________ perspective to understand the global economy.

a. functional
b. conflict theory
c. feminist
d. symbolic interactionist

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2. A ____________ perspective theorist might find it particularly noteworthy that wealthy corporations improve the
quality of life in peripheral nations by providing workers with jobs, pumping money into the local economy, and
improving transportation infrastructure.

a. functional
b. conflict
c. feminist
d. symbolic interactionist

3. A sociologist working from a symbolic interaction perspective would:
a. study how inequality is created and reproduced
b. study how corporations can improve the lives of their low-income workers
c. try to understand how companies provide an advantage to high-income nations compared to low-income nations
d. want to interview women working in factories to understand how they manage the expectations of their

supervisors, make ends meet, and support their households on a day-to-day basis

4. France might be classified as which kind of nation?
a. Global
b. Core
c. Semi-peripheral
d. Peripheral

5. In the past, the United States manufactured clothes. Many clothing corporations have shut down their U.S. factories and
relocated to China. This is an example of:

a. conflict theory
b. OECD
c. global inequality
d. capital flight

10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty
6. Slavery in the pre-Civil War U.S. South most closely resembled

a. chattel slavery
b. debt bondage
c. relative poverty
d. peonage

7. Maya is a twelve-year-old girl living in Thailand. She is homeless, and often does not know where she will sleep or
when she will eat. We might say that Maya lives in _________ poverty.

a. subjective
b. absolute
c. relative
d. global

8. Mike, a college student, rents a studio apartment. He cannot afford a television and lives on cheap groceries like dried
beans and ramen noodles. Since he does not have a regular job, he does not own a car. Mike is living in:

a. global poverty
b. absolute poverty
c. subjective poverty
d. relative poverty

9. Faith has a full-time job and two children. She has enough money for the basics and can pay her rent each month, but
she feels that, with her education and experience, her income should be enough for her family to live much better than they
do. Faith is experiencing:

a. global poverty
b. subjective poverty
c. absolute poverty
d. relative poverty

10. In a U.S. town, a mining company owns all the stores and most of the houses. It sells goods to the workers at inflated
prices, offers house rentals for twice what a mortgage would be, and makes sure to always pay the workers less than
needed to cover food and rent. Once the workers are in debt, they have no choice but to continue working for the company,
since their skills will not transfer to a new position. This situation most closely resembles:

a. child slavery

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b. chattel slavery
c. debt slavery
d. servile marriage

10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
11. One flaw in dependency theory is the unwillingness to recognize _______.

a. that previously low-income nations such as China have successfully developed their economies and can no
longer be classified as dependent on core nations

b. that previously high-income nations such as China have been economically overpowered by low-income nations
entering the global marketplace

c. that countries such as China are growing more dependent on core nations
d. that countries such as China do not necessarily want to be more like core nations

12. One flaw in modernization theory is the unwillingness to recognize _________.
a. that semi-peripheral nations are incapable of industrializing
b. that peripheral nations prevent semi-peripheral nations from entering the global market
c. its inherent ethnocentric bias
d. the importance of semi-peripheral nations industrializing

13. If a sociologist says that nations evolve toward more advanced technology and more complex industry as their citizens
learn cultural values that celebrate hard work and success, she is using _______ theory to study the global economy.

a. modernization theory
b. dependency theory
c. modern dependency theory
d. evolutionary dependency theory

14. If a sociologist points out that core nations dominate the global economy, in part by creating global interest rates and
international tariffs that will inevitably favor high-income nations over low-income nations, he is a:

a. functionalist
b. dependency theorist
c. modernization theorist
d. symbolic interactionist

15. Dependency theorists explain global inequality and global stratification by focusing on the way that:
a. core nations and peripheral nations exploit semi-peripheral nations
b. semi-peripheral nations exploit core nations
c. peripheral nations exploit core nations
d. core nations exploit peripheral nations

Short Answer

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
1. Consider the matter of rock-bottom prices at Walmart. What would a functionalist think of Walmart’s model of
squeezing vendors to get the absolute lowest prices so it can pass them along to core nation consumers?

2. Why do you think some scholars find Cold War terminology (“first world” and so on) objectionable?

3. Give an example of the feminization of poverty in core nations. How is it the same or different in peripheral nations?

4. Pretend you are a sociologist studying global inequality by looking at child labor manufacturing Barbie dolls in China.
What do you focus on? How will you find this information? What theoretical perspective might you use?

10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty
5. Consider the concept of subjective poverty. Does it make sense that poverty is in the eye of the beholder? When you see
a homeless person, is your reaction different if he or she is seemingly content versus begging? Why?

6. Think of people among your family, your friends, or your classmates who are relatively unequal in terms of wealth.
What is their relationship like? What factors come into play?

7. Go to your campus bookstore or visit its web site. Find out who manufactures apparel and novelty items with your
school’s insignias. In what countries are these produced? Conduct some research to determine how well your school
adheres to the principles advocated by USAS.

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10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
8. There is much criticism that modernization theory is Eurocentric. Do you think dependency theory is also biased? Why,
or why not?

9. Compare and contrast modernization theory and dependency theory. Which do you think is more useful for explaining
global inequality? Explain, using examples.

Further Research

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
To learn more about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, look here: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
UN_development_goals (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/UN_development_goals)

To learn more about the existence and impact of global poverty, peruse the data here: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
poverty_data (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/poverty_data)

10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty
Students often think that the United States is immune to the atrocity of human trafficking. Check out the following link to
learn more about trafficking in the United States: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/human_trafficking_in_US
(http://openstaxcollege.org/l/human_trafficking_in_US)

For more information about the ongoing practices of slavery in the modern world click here: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
anti-slavery (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/anti-slavery)

10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
For more information about economic modernization, check out the Hudson Institute at http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
Hudson_Institute (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Hudson_Institute)

Learn more about economic dependency at the University of Texas Inequality Project: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/
Texas_inequality_project (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Texas_inequality_project)

References

10.0 Introduction to Global Inequality
Butler, Sarah. 2013. “Bangladeshi Factory Deaths Spark Action among High-Street Clothing Chains.” The Guardian.
Retrieved November 7, 2014 (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/23/rana-plaza-factory-disaster-bangladesh-
primark).

Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. 2014. “Rana Plaza: A Look Back and Forward.” Global Labour Rights.
Retrieved November 7, 2014 (http://www.globallabourrights.org/campaigns/factory-collapse-in-bangladesh).

International Labour Organization, Department of Communication. 2014. “Post Rana Plaza: A Vision for the Future.”
Working Conditions: International Labour Organization. Retreived November 7, 2014 (http://www.ilo.org/global/about-
the-ilo/who-we-are/ilo-director-general/statements-and-speeches/WCMS_240382/lang–en/index.htm).

Korzeniewicz, Robert, and Timothy Patrick Moran. 2009. Unveiling Inequality: A World Historical Perspective. New
York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

10.1 Global Stratification and Classification
Amnesty International. 2012. “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” Retrieved January 3, 2012
(http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity (http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-
gender-identity) ).

Castells, Manuel. 1998. End of Millennium. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Central Intelligence Agency. 2012. “The World Factbook.” Retrieved January 5, 2012 (https://www.cia.gov/library/
publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_noa.html (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
wfbExt/region_noa.html) ).

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http://openstaxcollege.org/l/UN_development_goals

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/UN_development_goals

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/poverty_data

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/poverty_data

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/human_trafficking_in_US

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/human_trafficking_in_US

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/anti-slavery

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/anti-slavery

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Hudson_Institute

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Hudson_Institute

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Texas_inequality_project

http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Texas_inequality_project

http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity

http://www.amnesty.org/en/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_noa.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_noa.html

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Central Intelligence Agency. 2014. “Country Comparison: Infant Mortality Rate.” Retrieved November 7, 2014
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