Changes and Factors Associated with the Social Stratification and Material Situation of Hungarian Minority and Majority Youth (2001-2020)

Abstract

The study examines two questions. First, it focuses on the labour market positions and the social and material stratification of minority Hungarian youth between 2001 and 2020, as assessed by Mozaik2001 and the Hungarian Youth Survey (2020), examining both the social determinants and changes over time regarding the attainment of a good material position. It also compares these trends with the general situation of young people in Hungary, without focusing on the latter for reasons of space. In the initial period, those living outside the borders of Hungary were observed to be living in more deprived conditions than those in Hungary, and a specific “East-West” slope in terms of market economy development and material income conditions was also noted. This situation, however, became thoroughly rearranged by 2020, with within country differences sometimes becoming larger and material inequalities increasing and being redistributed. The other focus of the study, is the multidimensional socio-cultural stratification. In addition, beside material situation, attitudes related to values, value orientation, vision of the future, and social capital (organisational capital, network of friends, offline and online) are included in the model. The analysis, although focusing on minority Hungarian youth, uses similar dimensions for comparison with Gondi-Bokanyi et al. (2021) model. One of the aims of this study is to explain the main determinants of the significantly larger proportion of culturally deprived minority persons compared to those in Hungary, as well as the variation among countries.