1. Enterprising SelfIdentity and Earnings Inequality.
- Author
-
Moullin, Sophie
- Subjects
ECONOMICS ,EQUALITY ,FEMINIST theory ,GROUP identity ,WORK values ,SOCIOLOGY - Abstract
Social theorists inspired by Foucault suggest that an enterprising self, or "neoliberal" subjectivity, not only legitimates economic inequality, but also enlarges it. It is theorized that those who internalize and actout the economic theory of individual as 'an entrepreneur of himself' will be more productive, or at least make stronger claims as to their productivity, at work and receive correspondingly greater economic rewards. I provide a first quantitative test of this theory. I operationalize an entrepreneurial selfidentity using 12 questions indicating an orientation to selfmastery and selfflexibility asked of a recent, nationallyrepresentative panel of US workingage adults, MidLife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Initial models find that variation in this selfidentity helps account for disparities in earnings observed between and within occupations in the contemporary United States. Developing relational and feminist theories of earnings inequality, I argue that intrapersonal emotional work on the self is a part of claiming, if not generating, economic value at work. In doing so, I contribute to a nascent ''new' sociology of wages', that emphasizes the reciprocal, social construction of identity and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019