Inequality : structures, dynamics and mechanisms : essays in honor of Aage B. Sørensen

Aage Sorensen was an influential intellectual presence who was one of the world's leading authorities on social stratification and the sociology of education. His research sought to understand the structures, dynamics and mechanisms that underlie inequalities in industrial societies by focusing on how individuals' attainments are shaped by characteristics of a society's or organization's opportunity structure, on the one hand, and individuals' education, experience and other human capital resources, on the other. He emphasized inequalities associated with education and schooling, class, and stratification outcomes such as income and occupational status. Within these general foci, he tackled the study of phenomena as diverse as rates of learning in elementary school reading groups and promotion patterns in large industrial corporations. The chapters of this volume illustrate some of the major themes that characterized Aage's research; these topics are also likely to constitute important concerns for future efforts to understand structured social inequality in society. These themes include: the development of explicit dynamic models to account for observed patterns of education, career, and labor market outcomes; aspects of educational inequality such as school effects and learning opportunities; issues related to intragenerational mobility and careers; and the role of rents in generating structural inequality.

Introductory Chapter: Aage B. Sorensen: 1941-2001. Theory and Methods. "Generative Models and Explanatory Research: On the Sociology of Aage B. Sorensen." (P. Hedstrom). "Aage Botlger Sorensen's Contributions to Quantitative Sociology: From Studying Processes to Studying Structure" (T. Petersen). Educational Inequality. "Schooling and Academic Achievement in Time and Place". (R.M. Hauser). "Sorensen's Learning Opportunities Model: Theoretical Foundations, Mathematical Formalization, and Empirical Analyses". (M.T. Hallinan). "School Effects and Sorensen's Theories of Learning Opportunities and Achievement". (W.N. Kubitschek). Mobility and Careers. "Untying the Gordian Knot of Social Inheritance". (G. Esping-Andersen). "Career Patterns over the Life Course: Gender, Class, and Linked Lives". (Hans-Peter Blossfeld, S. Drobnic). Structural Inequality and Rents. "Sources of Structural Inequality in Managerial Labor Markets". (Rakesh Khurana and Mikolaj Jan Piskorski). "Towards a Structural Theory of Status Inequality: Structures and Rents in Popular Music and Tastes". (M. Ollivier). "Social Class, Rent Destruction, and the Earnings of Black and White Men, 1982-2000". (S.L. Morgan, M.W. McKerrow). "Firms, Wages, and Incentives: Incentive Systems and Their Impacts on Wages, Productivity, and Risks". (T. Petersen, V. Snartland). Appendix A: Aage B. Sorensen's Publication List. Appendix B: Memories of Aage Sorensen as a Mentor.