Poverty and Vulnerability In the Reconfiguration of Social Stratification In the 21st Century

The main frameworks for describing and measuring global stratification, largely based on occupation and labor market position, have faced significant challenges that have sparked productive debates over recent decades. Major efforts have been made to incorporate informality and lack of social protection into definitions of social position. The question of poverty — deprivation of resources below a socially accepted minimum, whether monetary or in terms of access to goods and services — has regained prominence in stratification research. The COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing global economic crises and the current technological transformations have impacted the way poverty is distributed across the lower social classes in patterns that remain poorly understood. The same applies to vulnerability, defined as the probability of falling into poverty.

Within this context, this session welcomes contributions addressing the relationship between poverty, vulnerability, and the reconfiguration of social stratification in the 21st century. We invite both theoretical and methodological contributions; empirical presentations are equally welcome, whether based on case studies, comparative or international designs and data. The session particularly seeks to document how global economic and social transformations — generating greater precarity at an accelerating pace — are reshaping the way we measure social stratification. Of special interest are the impact of retrenchment of social benefits in early-industrialized countries and the stalling of welfare expansion observed in late-developing nations. Finally, we expect that the inclusion of countries from the Global South will help challenge and expand existing analytical categories.