COMPARATIVE-STUDIES IN CLASS-STRUCTURE

In this paper we review the empirical legacy that developed out of the theoretical and methodological agendas of class analysis and comparat ive methods of the 1970s and 1980s. Our review is restricted to studie s that examine the variants in the class structures of the developed c apitalist demoncracies. The paper is organized into four main sections . In part one, we examine variations in the organization of capital; p art two takes up the still little-studied resurgence of the petite bou rgeoisie and small capital; in part three, we review studies that have examined national variations in the size and composition of the new m iddle class; and part four reviews the postindustrial and gendered nat ure of the working class. Our conclusion highlights important labor ma rket developments of the 1980s that have largely been missed by conven tional class models and comments on their significance for the future of empirical research in class analysis.