The changing distribution of professional and managerial manpower in England and Wales between 1961 and 1966

Abstract

Waugh M. (1969) The changing distribution of professional and managerial manpower in England and Wales between 1961 and 1966, Reg. Studies 3, 157–169. This study aims to measure the recent accentuation of regional socio-economic contrasts within England and Wales, taking changes in the proportion of professional and managerial manpower as a critical index. Using data from the 1961 Census of Population and the 1966 Sample Census, an attempt is made to identify the relative contribution of selective migration between regions and occupational mobility within each region to such changes. There is evidence that government policies aimed to reduce the inequitable distribution of opportunity and affluence have achieved limited success. The continuing concentration of wealth and expertise in the Midlands and South-East can no longer be attributed mainly to selective inmigration; cities provide opportunities for upward socio-economic mobility among their residents and conurbations are major generators of high status groups. Rising socio-economic status round Greater London is unparalleled elsewhere in the country.