Intergenerational occupational mobility among men in Canada and Australia

To examine in more detail the results of global comparisons of male occupational mobility rates and patterns, we chose two countries that are matched closely on a number of important socioeconomic dimensions, Canada and Australia. Although we find no difference between the two countries in their rates of exchange mobility, this superficial similarity masks important differences in both patterns of structural mobility and in the role of education in the status transmission process. While in Canada a university degree eliminates the effect of origin status on current occupational status, in Australia we observe the same effect among those with any amount of post-secondary schooling. As well, the Canadian mobility regime is characterized by considerably more structural mobility than is the Australian, particularly for movement involving farming.