Research focus areas at the chair of Prof. Szydlik
The main research focus areas at the chair of Prof. Szydlik are social stratification, life course, labour market, generations, empirical social and economic research.
Research on social stratification provides the overall framework for the research activities. The focus is on the extent, causes, and consequences of social inequality. Life course research is another priority area of research. It is concerned with transitions between stages of life, for instance, the transition from education to working life or from work to retirement.
Studies on labour markets address, for example, the problem of matching acquired and required skills: Who is particularly affected by overqualification and how does it influence the life course? What are the consequences in terms of social inequality? A more recent project deals with the impact of flexibilisation on social stratification, labour and family.
Research on generations also provides important links to studies on life course and social stratification. What bonds between the generations persist over the life course, from leaving the parental home, through middle age, up to old age? Are there connections between family solidarity and social inequality? A large research project (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation) which has been launched in Zurich is devoted to examining relations between generations in Europe from a comparative perspective.
The common ground of all the projects at the chair is empirical social and economic research based on representative population surveys.
For more information, please visit the web pages at the chair of Prof. Szydlik.