Developing a multidimensional model of social inequality research

The goal of the project “Developing a multidimensional model of social inequality research” is to develop a model that can be used to determine the mechanisms of inequality that dominate in the researched countries (Croatia and Serbia), and which will be usable in a wider European context. The investigated countries are specific in that the class position in them is based on a combination of exploitation mechanisms and mechanisms of social closure. Since indications of such mechanisms of creating social inequality are also present in European societies with different class traditions, the methodology developed in the project will be able to serve in them in the future as well. The project starts from Bourdieu’s multidimensional conception of class analysis, but modifies and expands it to meet the needs of the new social context. In quantitative analyses, the project is based on multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), and in the qualitative part on semi-structured interviews containing “focused ethnographies”. The project also discusses the mixed-method design needed to conduct research on social inequality.