000			01397pab a2200169 454500
008			180718b1999 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aBuckingham, Alan
245			_aIs there an underclass in Britain?
260			_c1999
300			_ap.49-75
362			_aMar
520			_aThis paper sets out to define the underclass and then test the predictions of three competing theories in the underclass debate. Using the National Child Development Study for the analysis it is found that an `underclass' suffering from a lack of qualifications, low cognitive ability and chronic joblessness exists. The validity of making a distinction between the working class and an `underclass' has often been questioned both because of the dubious history of such a distinction and because it is not believed that such a distinction is empirically true. The results in this paper contradict this assertion by finding the underclass to be distinctive from the working class in terms of patterns of family formation, work commitment and political allegiance. The distinct attitudes of the underclass, when coupled with evidence of inter-and intra-generational stability of membership, provide early evidence that a new social class, the underclass, may now exist in Britain. - Reproduced
650			_aSocial class
650			_aDisadvantaged groups
773			_aBritish Journal of Sociology
909			_a40805
999			_c40805 _d40805