Role of Social Capital in Status Attainment: generations getting their first job under the Socialism and Capitalism in the Czech Republic
Abstract
The paper focuses on the first job hunting in the broader context of intergenerational mobility/reproduction process in two eras represented by age cohorts entering labor market before and after the fall of the iron curtain (before/after 1989). Using national representative survey Networks and Mobility 2011 (N = 850) I focus on differences in method of finding the first job.
In comparison before/after 1989, employing strong ties lessened (applies to family networks but close friends netw. increased) as well as formal channels diminished a little (with internal variety, e.g. workplace admittance weakened, personal agencies strengthened) whereas weak ties became more relevant. However these changes were not crossing all social classes.
Preliminary results testing hypothesis of “growing stratifying effects of social networks after 1989” are showing that there are not big differences in job searching methods in service class, whereas intermediate professions use less formal channels and more weak ties, the same does working class which also utilize less strong ties. Further, the model of status reproduction mechanism is examined from a particular point of view of social networks.
Besides effects of status of origin (parental ISEI) and academic achievement, mobilized social capital (ISEI of contact person) raises the first occupational status. An attempt to measure accessed social capital as network size (and utility contacts) of family of origin was made which proved to be rather very weak advantage in status attainment.
However, social networks if individuals are partly inherited from their parents' networks.