This thesis aims at systematically investigating intergenerational class mobility in contemporary China between 1996 and 2006, a period of time that largely overlaps the third decade of the country’s reform era. The study seeks answers to the following questions: 1) to what extent Chinese are found in class positions that differ from their class origins; 2) whether the amount of intergenerational mobility increased during the decade in question; 3) whether China has become a more equal society in terms of social mobility; 4) what are the overall patterns of social fluidity in China; and, 5) how mobility outcomes are affected by work-life mobility and various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, such as gender and the household registration (hukou) background.This research uses nationally representative survey data from three surveys – the Life Histories and Social Change Survey (1996) and the Chinese General Social Surveys (CGSS 2005 and CGSS 2006). I adopt the class structural approach and the EGP (Erikson-Goldthorpe-Protocarero) class schema. Various statistical methods are employed to explore the above issues: descriptive analysis for changes of China’s class structure, absolute rates of mobility and work-life mobility from the first job class to class of destination; log-linear and log-multiplicative analysis for trends and between-group differences in relative mobility; the Hauser-type density levels model and the core model of social fluidity for patterns of social fluidity; and the Stereotype Ordinal Regression Model for multivariate analysis of mobility outcomes. During the decade, China has become a more ‘mobile’ society in an upgraded structural context. While the relative size of the agricultural sector contracted substantially, there is a significant increase in the non-agricultural ‘room’ for occupational attainment, especially in the routine non-manual class and manual working classes. However, the analysis of relative mobility shows that the significant increase in total mobility and upward mobility has resulted mainly from structural changes. Between 1996 and 2006, the origin-destination association net of structural effects has been largely stable. Hence, the study provides little evidence in support of a more equal Chinese society. As regards gender differences, Chinese women are less socially mobile than men, and their mobility outcomes tend to be more affected than men by their social origin.In fitting the density levels model and the core model of social fluidity to the pooled data, I show that the highest likelihood of occurrence lies with the self-inheritance of peasants as well as small business owners. In contrast, mobility between the agricultural sector and non-manual classes displays the lowest likelihood of occurrence. While relative chances of mobility for both men and women are heavily affected the boundary between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, women are further subject to the hierarchical effect that hinders long-range mobility. In the final part of the empirical analyses, I reveal the decisive role that the first job class plays in mobility processes in China. The results of the multivariate analysis also indicate that the institutional barriers imposed by the hukou system have a striking negative effect on mobility chances.

The aim of this thesis is to examine women's educational attainment and social mobility in contemporary South Korea. This study seeks to answer to the following key research questions: 1) how much parents' characteristics such as occupational status and educational attainment, are important to their children's education and class; 2) the roles of educational qualification to occupational attainment in contemporary South Korea; 3) whether South Korea has become a more equal society with improved mobility chances for people of different social origins; and, 4) if there is a general pattern of social mobility and social fluidity in South Korea, how it is related to the change in the occupational positions of women. This research uses the Korean Labour and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) from 1998 to look at the changing relationship between social origin, education, and destination and what it indicates the role of education in the social mobility in Korea. The following tools are used for the analysis: I adopt Goldthorpe's class schema and CASMIN scales of educational qualifications. I then separately look at the association for men and women separately. Various statistical methods are subsequently employed to explore the substantive research questions: I use descriptive analysis for changes of Korea's educational attainment and look at absolute rates of mobility. Disparity ratios and odds ratios are used for describing the relative patterns and chances of educational attainment and mobility and regression model are used for analysing the impact of a range of factors on educational attainment and class destination. Finally, I draw on log-linear and log-multiplicative analysis for the trends in relative mobility and social fluidity. I find that access to education is still influenced by social background. Although the disparities between men and women become narrower across cohort, class and gender differentials in general educational attainment still apply to South Korea. Regarding the relative mobility rates, the results from disparity ratios show that the social class and gender differentials in class mobility still exist and the results of odds ratios confirm that social origin has a significant effect on children's social class destination. Looking at the origin-education (OE) association, class differences are still considerable and the relationship between class origins and educational attainment remains. Turning to the association between educational attainment and occupational destination (ED), qualifications continue to play a critical role in entry into the labour market remains, but there is no evidence that the association between education and destination has strengthened over time. Looking at the direct association between origins and destination (OD), the evidence shows the continuing association of origins on destinations. Regression analysis shows that the origin class effects upon educational attainment and occupational destinations were not dramatically decreased, but there were significant changes for women but not for men. The findings from the log-linear and log-multiplicative analysis suggest that there is trendless fluctuation and a stronger link between education and destination for women than for men.