1999 works and status attainment.pdf

0360-0572/99/0815-0467$ 467 Annu. Rev. Sociol. 1999. 25:467–87 Copyright ?1999 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved WORKS AND STATUS ATTAINMENT Nan Lin Department of Sociology, Duke University, Box 90088, Durham, North Carolina 27708-0088; e-mail: ******@ KEY WORDS: social resources, social capital, works, status attainment A BSTRACT This essay traces the development of the research enterprise, known as the social resources theory, which formulated and tested a number of proposi- tions concerning the relationships between embedded resources in works and socioeconomic attainment. This enterprise, seen in the light of social capital, has accumulated a substantial body of research literature and supported the proposition that social capital, in terms of both access and mo- bilization of embedded resources, enhances the chances of attaining better statuses. Further, social capital is contingent on initial positions in the social hierarchies as well as on extensity of social ties. The essay concludes with a discussion of remaining critical issues and future research directions for this research enterprise. INTRODUCTION Status attainment can be understood as a process by which individuals mobi- lize and invest resources for returns in socioeconomic standings. Resources in this context are defined as valued goods in society, however consensually de- termined (Lin 1982, 1995), and values are normative judgments rendered on these goods which in most societies correspond with wealth, status, and power (Weber 1946). Socioeconomic standings refer to valued resources attached to occupied positions. These resources can be classified into two types: personal resources and social resources. Personal resources are possessed by the indi- vidual who can use and dispose them with freedom and without much concern pensation. Social resources are resources accessible through one’s di- rect and indirect ties. The access to and use of these resources are temporary and borrowe