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How far merit selection? Social stratification and the labour market 1
Author(s) -
Jackson Michelle
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the british journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.826
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-4446
pISSN - 0007-1315
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00156.x
Subject(s) - meritocracy , newspaper , social stratification , order (exchange) , labour economics , selection (genetic algorithm) , economics , marketing , sociology , advertising , business , social science , market economy , computer science , finance , artificial intelligence
The question of how societies allocate occupational positions and subsequent rewards has long been of interest to sociologists. According to one influential theory, the needs of modern industrial societies and economies demand that high‐level and functionally important occupational positions are allocated according to meritocratic principles. I argue that, ultimately, employers get the final say about which characteristics are rewarded in the labour market. In order to examine which skills and attributes are required by employers for particular occupations I analyse data drawn from a content analysis of c.5000 British newspaper job advertisements. The results show that both merit and non‐merit characteristics are requested by employers in job advertisements, even for occupations falling within the higher classes. I also find evidence that employers have similar requirements for similar occupations, cross‐cutting class boundaries.