PALESTINIAN SOCIETY - Fafo

The distribution is grouped into four status categories. Most HHs
appear to experience a "middle" leveI situation. A peak is observed at
the upper side of the upper midd le category and at the lower side of
the lower middle category. From this point, the status scores fall
gradually. More HHs experience a relatively deprived situation than
a relatively privileged one, but with very few experiencing either
absolute deprivation or absolute privilege.
Comparatively spe aking the distribution reflects a situation that
lies somewhere between the cIassical "pyramidal" and "diamond"
shaped structures. While the former is found in many deveIoping
soeieties, in which the majority of roles are ranked low, the latter is
typical of many modemized societies, where there sometimes is a
strong pressure toward soeial equality as well as a need for increasing
numbers of middle-ranking offieials.14
Although we do not have directly comparable indicators, and
while it may be true that the index also reflects our own subjective
evaluation of good and bad situations, it can be fairly said that the
Palestinian stratification diverges from the rest of the Arab world. The
deviation may be caused and reinforced by severai factors: First,
Palestine (as it never achieved independence) has not deveIoped a
public sector and, more specifically, a state bureaucracy, a sectorthat
in neighboring countries accounts for enlarged strata of public officials
and civil servants. Second, traditional Palestinian hierarchies
were, from 1948 onwards, severely disrupted as a result of war and
expulsion, leading to the loss of the landed cIasses and the traditional
elites. Third, as a result of pressing economic hardships since 1967,
aconsiderable segment ofPalestinian professional and business eIites
have emigrated to the dias pora (the Gulf and the U.S.A). The observed
distribution may thus reflect limited possibilities of socioeconomic
mobility during the last decades, leading to the present pattem of
socioeconomic homogeneity centered upon low- and lower middle
status categories.
Socioeconomic Status and
HH Background Characteristics
It is reasonable to assurne that the socioeconomic status of any HH will
be related to other background characteristics. Age, sex, refugee status
and locality should be considered important in this respect.
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