A Compared Cohort History of Residential Mobility, Social Change and Home-ownership in Paris and the Rest of France

Abstract

The joint analysis of two INED longitudinal surveys, one based on a national sample and the other on a sample of Parisians, presents a reconstruction of the residential history of a cohort born between 1926 and 1935 and an evaluation of the role of the Paris region in the migration patterns of these generations. The first part of the paper advocates the advantages offered by such longitudinal data which nevertheless presents the researcher with new challenges. For those French generations born between the two world wars, the beginnings in the post-war housing crisis were difficult. A comparison of the social as well as the residential histories of individuals confirms the close link between geographical and social mobility. The analysis of the social origin and the occupational characteristics of individuals in these categories exhibits the high social mobility in the Paris region which favours dynasties of professionals and provides better opportunities for the other occupations. The Paris region appears as the ideal location to improve one's chances of social advancement. Another characteristic of the post-1950s housing transformation is the diffusion of home-ownership. This affected provincials and Parisians in different ways, both of which are closely examined.