Migration and the Reconfiguration of the Social Stratification System in Spain 2008–2023

Carlos Ruiz-Ramos , Centre for Demographic Studies
Andreu Domingo, Centre for Demographic Studies
Rocío Treviño, Centre for Demographic Studies

Over the last 25 years Spain has undergone profound socio-economic transformations, while becoming the second-largest recipient of international migration in the European Union. The confluence of these two processes has transformed the country’s social stratification structure. We devise a multivariate and intersectional measure to identify the main characteristics of the social stratification system in Spain; we examine its evolution during the three main phases of the early 21st century—Economic expansion, Great Recession, and recovery period—; and explore the role of international migration on the reconfiguration process. We draw our data from the Spanish EU-SILC (ECV) and apply multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and cluster techniques to map the social stratification system. We further use fixed-effects models to measure the association between macro-level dynamics, such as GDP growth and changes in real estate prices, and the reconfiguration of the social stratification structure. Our preliminary results point to a) an upward mobility of the native population; and b) to an ethnic stratification whereby Latin American- and African-born population groups are concentrated in the most socially disadvantaged strata.

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 Presented in Session 63. Immigrants' Descendants and Social Stratification