Carlos Ruiz Ramos.– “Beyond the ladder, the social space of inequalities. A multivariate quantitative approach to social stratification in Spain”

Direcció: Andrés F. Castro Torres

Tutor: Albert Esteve Palós

Abstract

Over the past four decades, Spain has undergone profound economic liberalisation and experienced one of Europe’s largest migratory influxes, resulting in a fundamental restructuring of its social stratification system. Traditional measures of social standing—relying on markers such as occupation or income—increasingly struggle to capture the interacting forms of inequality that define contemporary social positions. This thesis addresses this complexity by adopting an inductive, multidimensional perspective, moving beyond the concept of a “social ladder” toward a “social space” of inequalities. Utilizing Geometric Data Analysis (GDA)—specifically Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Cluster Analysis—the research maps the Spanish social structure to reveal how material living conditions, migration status, and age-related life stages intersect to shape social privilege and disadvantage.

The dissertation is structured into five chapters: Chapter 1 establishes the general framework by reviewing the socioeconomic and demographic transformations in Spain since the 1980s, alongside a critical assessment of theoretical debates regarding the conceptualisation of social class and social stratification. Chapter 2 operationalises the social space to map the Spanish stratification structure in 2021. By integrating the interaction between age and region of birth, it identifies distinct patterns of segmented assimilation and the specific social cleavages affecting migrant cohorts across life stages. Chapter 3 focuses on Catalonia, a primary destination for international migration within Spain. It identifies a concentration of migrant populations within the most disadvantaged strata and suggests a relative “upward” and “downward” displacement of the native working class driven by recent sociodemographic shifts. Chapter 4 examines the association between social strata and life trajectories. Using retrospective data, it reconstructs family and employment trajectories to assess how children’s exposure to changes in family structure and parental employment is stratified across social groups. Chapter 5 synthesises the key findings, reflecting on the study’s limitations and the implications for future research, particularly regarding the growing centrality of housing and wealth in the reproduction of inequality.

The findings demonstrate that the Spanish stratification system is structured around three primary dimensions: education/occupation/income, family background, and housing/wealth. Notably, the growth of asset prices has outpaced wages, making wealth accumulation and housing tenure critical axes of social differentiation that have partially displaced traditional occupational categories. Furthermore, the results highlight a “nativity divide,” where migrant populations experience the converge of social disadvantaged in multiple life domains. This research underscores that social stratification is a multidimensional reality, where the interaction of ascribed and achieved characteristics determines individuals’ resources, opportunities, and ultimate life outcomes in a rapidly changing society.

Key words: Social stratification, inequality, migration, life course