Die Konstruktion eines international vergleichbaren Klassenschemas (EGP). Erwerbsstatistische Besonderheiten am Beispiel von Labour Force Surveys der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Frankreichs, Großbritanniens und Ungarns

The class scheme of Erikson, Goldthorpe and Portocarero (see Erikson/Goldthorpe 1992) plays an important role in sociological research on inequality and mobility. The empirical application is based on labour statistics which are regularly collected in representative surveys in most societies. This constitutes a specific problem for comparative inequality research, which depends on the development of a comparable instrument to measure the social situation of individuals, families, or households. The data sources in different societies sometimes vary greatly with regard to the collection and technical systematization of labour statistics information. Over time national surveys also undergo change in this regard. This paper proposes an operationalization of the EGP class scheme which is adapted to the dataset of the 1980s and 1990s and is orientated on the original considerations of the CASMIN researchers. We concentrate on Germany, France, and Great Britain. Peculiarities of the systems used by the national statistics agencies, the classification principles they are based on, and historical changes are sketched out in detail and discussed with regard to the problems they pose for the development of a comparative measuring instrument.