Social mobility in socialist Serbia: A revisionist approach

Abstract

This paper starts from the findings of the latest study of social structure in Serbia (2012), which show a significant reduction of vertical social mobility, especially for further inter-stratum distance. In light of these data, the author considers that we have to re-examine earlier, very biting evaluation of some Serbian sociologists concerning 'closeness' for mobility of the society in socialist Serbia. The author analyzes and re-evaluated findings of earlier research (Janićijević, 1970; Flere and Đurđev, 1982/3; Bogdanovic, 1986; 1988; Vukovic, 1989). He concludes that very brisk evaluation of mobility in the Serbian society during socialism is a consequence of schematic interpretation of these findings with Yasuda 's index.

Keywords

• structural mobility
• perfect mobility
• Yasuda's coefficient
• egalitarianism
• ideology